Former Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra waves as he arrives at a courthouse in Lima, Peru, in June for the court to evaluate a prosecutor’s request to order six months of preventive detention for him before a trial for alleged corruption. File Photo by Paolo Aguilar/EPA
Aug. 21 (UPI) — With a preventive detention order issued by Peru’s judiciary against former President Martín Vizcarra, the country now has all of its former presidents jailed simultaneously on corruption and other serious charges — an unprecedented situation worldwide.
Former President Martín Vizcarra entered Barbadillo prison in Lima on Aug. 13 to serve five months of preventive detention while awaiting trial on corruption allegations stemming from his time as regional governor of Moquegua between 2011 and 2014. He is accused of taking more than $600,000 in bribes linked to two public works contracts.
Although the case does not involve his time as head of state, Vizcarra becomes the fifth former Peruvian president sent to prison in the past 18 years. Barbadillo prison already holds Pedro Castillo, Alejandro Toledo and Ollanta Humala, and was first adapted to house Alberto Fujimori in facilities built specifically for a former president.
“Peru is clearly facing a legitimacy crisis in its political class, one with deep roots that reinforces the public perception that corruption permeates every level of power,” said Carlos Escaffi, a professor of international relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru.
Within this context, Escaffi pointed to the role of Peru’s judiciary, particularly the Public Ministry, “which has shown no hesitation in bringing the accused to trial, something that can be seen as progress in the fight against corruption.”
In 2009, former President Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison, mainly for crimes tied to human rights violations and corruption during his 1990 to 2000 presidency.
After serving more than 15 years, he was granted a humanitarian pardon in 2017 for health reasons, though the measure was annulled and reinstated several times before he was freed for good in 2023 under an order from Peru’s Constitutional Court. He died in September 2024.
In the case of Alan García, who twice served as president, he died by suicide in 2019 as police tried to arrest him on corruption allegations tied to Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, which paid massive bribes across Latin America.
Among the other former presidents held in Barbadillo prison, Alejandro Toledo is serving a 20-year sentence for collusion and money laundering related to Odebrecht bribes, while Ollanta Humala is serving a sentence for illicit contributions to his presidential campaigns.
Pedro Castillo has been in preventive detention since late 2022 on corruption allegations during his presidency and for attempting a failed coup.
Martín Vizcarra became president of Peru in 2018 after then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned rather than face impeachment by Congress. In 2022, Vizcarra was placed under house arrest. He is currently free with restrictions — barred from leaving Peru — and faces money laundering and collusion charges, though no final sentence has been issued.
As for current President Dina Boluarte, Peru’s Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday in favor of a petition from the executive branch and ordered all criminal investigations and impeachment proceedings against her suspended until her term ends on July 28, 2026.
The cases — including deaths during protests in 2022 and 2023, the so-called “Rolexgate” scandal over alleged illicit enrichment, and accusations of abandoning office — can resume only after she leaves the presidency.