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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Cartes-Peña rift rumors grow after meeting and pressure on Ueno Bank

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Ongoing story
  • A meeting between former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and senior Colorado Party figures has revived speculation about tensions with President Santiago Peña.
  • The gathering followed a request by pro-Cartes senators for information about Ueno Bank, which had links to Peña until March 2025.
  • The bank inquiry and a social-media message about public health have prompted competing interpretations within the ruling Honor Colorado movement.

A lunch at former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes’s home has revived speculation about a possible political break with President Santiago Peña. The meeting brought together figures from Cartes’s inner circle just hours after pro-Cartes senators asked the Central Bank of Paraguay for information about Ueno Bank.

Those attending included Senate President Basilio “Bachi” Núñez, senators Antonio “Tony” Barrios, Natalicio Chase and Gustavo Leite, Senate adviser Sergio Godoy, Housing Minister Juan Carlos Baruja, and Eduardo “Presi” González Báez, chief of staff of the Colorado Party and legal adviser to Yacyretá.

The senators’ request seeks information about Ueno Bank’s operations, including possible links with related companies, compliance with financial-law limits and the level of supervision by the central bank. The initiative comes amid criticism over the concentration of public funds and resources from Paraguay’s Social Security Institute in the bank. Peña was linked to Ueno Bank until March 2025.

Some political actors view the inquiry as pressure on the president’s circle. Others say it aims to clear up existing doubts and “whitewash” the bank’s situation in response to continuing criticism. The speculation also drew on a social-media post by Gustavo Leite after the meeting, which began: “Working lunch with the president of the Colorado Party. Health for the people, without” before the supplied text ends.

Working lunch with the president of the Colorado Party. Health for the people, without

· Gustavo LeiteThe senator posted the message after the meeting at Cartes’s residence; the supplied article ends before the sentence is complete.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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