The Paraguayan Ueno Bank, whose insolvency-related intervention triggered a financial and political crisis that led President Santiago Peña to resign, was one of the main sponsors of a gala for conservative organizations held last February at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s private residence in Florida, United States. At the event, Fernando Cerimedo, the Argentinian consultant linked to far-right presidents in the region, including Javier Milei, Rodrigo de la Paz, Daniel Noboa, and José Antonio Kast, among others, was honored. Cerimedo is also an ally of Spain’s Javier Negre, with whom he promoted La Derecha Diario.On February 12, the Paraguayan newspaper ABC Color reported that Ueno Bank was one of the six top-tier sponsors of the Hispanic Prosperity Gala 2026, held on February 10. The financial institution appeared as a Diamond sponsor, a category advertised at $100,000. The event organizers also publicly acknowledged Ueno’s participation.The gala was organized by Latino Wall Street, a platform founded by entrepreneurs Tony Delgado and Gabriela Berrospi, with the participation of Javier Negre, director of La Derecha Diario. Among the attendees was Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who presented Cerimedo with the award for Hispanic Political Consultant of the Year.Other figures linked to the US conservative movement were also honored. Meanwhile, Argentinian President Javier Milei participated via a recorded message. The gathering brought together leaders, businesspeople, and consultants who promote a political agenda aligned with Trump and Latin American right-wing movements.“Financial innovation and the bank of the future join a historic night! 🇵🇾 We are honored to announce UENO BANK as an Official Sponsor of the first Hispanic Gala in Mar-a-Lago,” Latino Wall Street posted on its official X account on February 3. “As Paraguay’s first 100% digital bank, a leader in client numbers and card issuance, @ueno_py represents agility, vision, innovation, and financial inclusion,” Ueno Bank’s now-deleted X post read.The connection between the bank and Cerimedo took on a new dimension this week after the Central Bank of Paraguay announced the start of Ueno Bank’s resolution procedure on November 3, after detecting that its solvency ratio had fallen below half of the required minimum.The bank’s mismanagement affected millions of clients and compromised public funds deposited with the entity, including funds from the Social Welfare Institute (IPS), which manages pension funds. The case caused a crisis that directly reached President Santiago Peña, a former shareholder of the business group related to the institution.Ueno Bank is an entity of the Vázquez Group that, after Peña assumed the presidency in 2023, was authorized by the Central Bank of Paraguay to operate as a bank, Chequeado reported.According to an ABC Color investigation published on October 13, Ueno Bank had held around $850 million from the Paraguayan public sector in three years. The newspaper identified coincidences between the arrival of state deposits and the granting of loans to companies linked to the financial group.Santiago Peña resigned as President of Paraguay due to the corruption scandal related to Ueno Bank. Photo: X @SantiPenapPeña, who held an approximate 1.58% shareholding in the holding company tied to the bank, sold those shares in March 2025. The financial operations and regulatory authorities’ actions are part of the investigations triggered by the collapse.The crisis peaked on Thursday, November 5, when Peña submitted his resignation from the Paraguayan Presidency amid legislative discussions to subject him to political impeachment. However, his resignation was not formally accepted by Congress due to a lack of quorum at the session convened to resolve it.This Friday, the Paraguayan Senate removed Santiago Peña from the Presidency after subjecting him to a political trial for poor performance of his duties.In a vote that ended with 44 votes in favor of conviction and removal, and one absent, Peña formally ceased to be the President of Paraguay.The removal through political impeachment will prevent Santiago Peña from accessing a lifetime senatorship and corresponding privileges, in accordance with Article 189 of the Constitution.With the resolution, Vice President Pedro Alliana will complete the remainder of Santiago Peña’s mandate, until August 15, 2028.Presenté mi renuncia para evitar más daño al país y contribuir a devolverle la tranquilidad al Paraguay. No quiero que mi presencia sea motivo de mayor división o inestabilidad. Mi responsabilidad es poner al país por encima de mi destino personal.Hoy nos toca unirnos como…— Santiago Peña (@SantiPenap) November 6, 2026For his part, Santiago Peña stated that he decided to resign as president to prevent further damage to the country and restore tranquility.In a message published on his X account, the former president said Paraguayans must now unite to rebuild institutions and regain trust, assuring that he was leaving his post without ignoring the anguish of those who are now awaiting answers.“I presented my resignation to avoid further damage to the country and help restore tranquility to Paraguay. I do not want my presence to be a cause for greater division or instability. My responsibility is to put the country above my personal destiny. Today, we must unite as Paraguayans to rebuild institutions and regain trust. I bid farewell with gratitude, without ignoring the anguish of those who are now awaiting answers. It is time to unite efforts to rebuild institutions and address those affected with action and responsibility. May God bless Paraguay.”Cerimedo’s Paraguayan ConnectionThe Argentinian consultant’s ties to Paraguay are not limited to the Mar-a-Lago gala. An investigation by journalist Carolina Sales for ABC Color, published on August 26, documented his relationship with Andrés “Andy” Rivas, a Paraguayan political consultant close to Santiago Peña’s inner circle, and a participant in international diplomatic and political activities.According to that work, Cerimedo and Rivas collaborated on communication campaigns and electoral strategy in Latin America, particularly with Nasry Asfura in Honduras. Both also participated in a political forum held in Asunción in 2024. The investigation recovered statements in which Cerimedo called Rivas a “great friend” and recognized him as a key collaborator in his political operations.Rivas’ participation in activities related to the Paraguayan government provoked legislative questions. On August 26, for example, ABC Color reported that the Senate had approved a request for information on the consultant’s role in meetings, trips, and official dealings, particularly due to his closeness to President Peña and the then-foreign minister Rubén Ramírez Lezcano, despite the fact that his status as a public official had not been formally accredited.Cerimedo currently faces criminal proceedings in Bolivia, where he was arrested in August, accused of organizing an attempted femicide against his ex-partner, Nadia Beller, who has revealed Cerimedo’s links to the far-right in Latin America and the MAGA movement in the United States. An investigation into alleged illicit enrichment has also been opened.What is certain is that, based on Beller’s revelations and the investigations carried out, relationships between businesspeople, financial entities, electoral consultants, and communication platforms operating in different Latin American countries are clear.In this network, Ueno Bank appears as a sponsor of the Mar-a-Lago gala; Cerimedo as one of the recognized figures; Javier Negre as a participant in the organization and partner of the Argentinian consultant; as well as Ricardo Salinas Pliego, whose alliance with La Derecha Diario has been documented by SinEmbargo.In this sense, the bankruptcy of Ueno Bank raises the question of how much money the institution actually allocated to that event and whether there were other financial or commercial agreements with the organizers, consultants, or their communication platforms.Cerimedo and Negre, and Ties to MexicoIn Mexico, Fernando Cerimedo and his partner Javier Negre found a space to expand their operations through businessman Ricardo Salinas Pliego, the owner of TV Azteca. The public relationship between the Mexican magnate and the Spanish journalist opened a channel between both consultants’ digital projects and the businessman’s media environment, which has made the so-called “culture wars” against the left one of his main banners.La Derecha Diario’s presence in Mexico is not minor. SinEmbargo has documented that the platform has accounts aimed at different countries, including Mexico, where it has participated in the dissemination of false content during the so-called Generation Z mobilizations and other digital offensives against President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government.The expansion of these accounts allows messages and narratives established in different parts of the region to circulate simultaneously in several countries and be incorporated into local political discussions. In this way, La Derecha Diario not only functions as a space for publishing content but also as a tool to amplify campaigns, position topics, and reinforce discourses against governments and figures identified with the left.In this scenario, Negre has served as a link between Cerimedo’s project and Salinas Pliego. The Spanish journalist was incorporated into the businessman’s political discourse. Meanwhile, La Derecha Diario has amplified messages and campaigns coinciding with those promoted by the owner of TV Azteca’s media environment. The convergence between the two is not limited to a personal or business relationship but is also expressed in a shared political agenda centered on confrontation with the left.The gala was organized by La Derecha Diario and Latino Wall Street, with Javier Negre and the platform’s founders, Tony Delgado and Gabriela Berrospi. Photo: Government of ArgentinaSinEmbargo investigations have also documented a broader network of communicators, anonymous accounts, politicians, and digital platforms that reproduce and amplify content associated with Salinas Pliego. This network involves different actors and communication spaces that help position certain narratives in public conversation through the constant circulation of messages.The connection is relevant because it shows how far-right communication strategies do not operate in isolation within each country but find business and media allies to extend their narratives and participate in national political disputes. In Mexico, Negre’s closeness to Salinas Pliego represents a point of contact between this international project and one of the country’s most important private communication groups.Pedro Alliana Assumes Presidency of Paraguay as Ueno Bank Probe Raises Questions About Political ChangeThe relationship between Cerimedo, Negre, and Salinas Pliego also raises a question about TV Azteca’s silence regarding the Argentinian consultant’s arrest. While international media followed the case and its political repercussions, the main Mexican television stations practically ignored it. Negre’s closeness to the businessman and his participation in the project founded by Cerimedo offer a context for understanding this silence, particularly when the case put a network of operators and platforms with which public ties exist under scrutiny. (SinEmbargo MX)Translation: Orinoco TribuneOT/JRE/SF