Santiago Pena did not attend the trial in the Senate despite earlier pledging to defend himself. (EPA Images pic)ASUNCION: Paraguayan Senators on Friday voted to impeach President Santiago Pena over the collapse of a major bank that locked almost half the population out of their accounts and triggered widespread protests.
Pena had offered his resignation over the disaster, but lawmakers pressed ahead with impeachment proceedings that would strip him of immunity granted to former presidents.
He did not attend the trial in the Senate despite earlier pledging to defend himself.
The president "is declared guilty of poor performance in his duties," Senate President Basilio Nunez declared after a vote of 44 in favor of impeachment and one absence out of 45 senators.
