Paraguayan president hospitalized after falling ill at G20 summit

Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena (L) is pictured before the group photo after the first session of the G20 Leaders’ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 18, 2024. Agence France-Presse

RIO DE JANEIRO — Paraguay’s President Santiago Pena was taken to a Rio hospital late Monday after falling ill while attending a G20 summit, officials said.

“We inform that the President of the Republic, Santiago Pena, was treated today at the Samaritano Hospital (Botafogo) in Rio de Janeiro due to an indisposition,” Brazilian authorities said in a statement.

In a medical bulletin, the hospital later indicated that Pena, 46, had “a malaise in the afternoon” and was taken to a health center for diagnostic tests.

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“The head of state is doing well and his current state of health is stable,” it added in a note.

Earlier, witnesses said Pena was taken by ambulance from the summit venue.

Some Latin American media reported that he had suffered chest pains.

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“I spoke with President Pena, who is in Rio de Janeiro’s Samaritano Hospital after a slight illness. He is doing well and awaiting the results of medical tests,” Paraguay’s Vice President Pedro Alliana said on the social network X.

Paraguay is not a member of the G20, but Pena was invited to the summit along with many other leaders outside the group by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the host.

Before falling ill, Pena had been presenting the economic situation of his country to other summit participants, notably in the area of poverty reduction.