Paraguayan prosecutors opened a concealed secure room at former president Santiago Peña’s summer home in San Bernardino on November 10 and found it empty. The result yielded no cash or valuables, but investigators seized documents and computers from the residence as they examine alleged links between Peña and Ueno Bank.

How investigators opened the room

The room was found on November 8 behind a false wall at the property, about 50km from Asunción. Prosecutors had been unable to open its reinforced door during their first attempt.

Peña, who is in preventive detention, provided information about how to open it, with his defence present. Prosecutor Silvia González said investigators used details he supplied about the security key.

Paraguayan media described four security mechanisms: a PIN, facial or iris recognition, a fingerprint reader and special keys. Before Peña’s cooperation, prosecutors had considered asking his wife, Leticia Ocampos, to provide biometric access or using a controlled detonation.

After the door was opened, González described the space as a panic room and said it was empty and appeared new. She said the condition of the floor informed that assessment. Investigators have not established when or why it was built.

What the search is investigating

The search is part of an investigation into Peña’s alleged ties to Ueno Bank. Prosecutors allege that he used his office to influence government and state entities’ decisions, while keeping large sums of public money in the bank. Peña was an indirect shareholder in the group that controlled Ueno until 2025.

Abril reported, citing the investigation, that Ueno loans partly financed the San Bernardino residence. The monthly instalments were said to equal six times Peña’s salary. The reports do not establish what the seized documents contain. González said a computer linked to the home’s camera system was also seized and would undergo forensic examination.

From bank intervention to impeachment

The case unfolded amid Ueno’s crisis. Paraguay’s Central Bank intervened in the bank on November 3 over solvency problems. Reports put the number of customers unable to access deposits at about three million.

On November 6, the Senate approved Peña’s impeachment by 44 votes to one abstention, and vice-president Pedro Alliana assumed the presidency. Peña is in preventive detention in a case involving alleged breach of trust and administration for his own benefit. The opening of the room established that it was empty; what the seized material may show about the wider investigation remains unknown.