LIMA (Realist English). Former Peruvian president Martín Vizcarra has been placed in pre-trial detention on corruption charges, becoming the country’s fourth ex-head of state currently behind bars.
The allegations, which carry a potential sentence of up to 15 years, date back to Vizcarra’s tenure as governor of the southern province of Moquegua, before he assumed the presidency in 2018. Prosecutors accuse him of receiving illicit payments linked to public works projects.
Judge Jorge Chávez on Wednesday ordered five months of pre-trial detention, citing a “flight risk” due to Vizcarra’s lack of employment and family ties, “questionable behaviour,” and the likelihood of a substantial prison sentence. Vizcarra, who attended the hearing, denied wrongdoing and called the accusations politically motivated. His lawyer said the ruling would be appealed, but he was immediately taken into custody.
Vizcarra joins fellow former presidents Pedro Castillo, Alejandro Toledo and Ollanta Humala in detention. All may be housed in a specialised prison facility on the outskirts of Lima, where the late Alberto Fujimori served a 25-year sentence for corruption and human rights abuses before his release on medical grounds in 2023; he died in September 2024.
Elected vice-president in 2016 under Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Vizcarra assumed the presidency two years later when Kuczynski resigned amid impeachment proceedings. A moderate centrist, Vizcarra was himself impeached in 2020, triggering a political crisis that has seen Peru cycle through six presidents in as many years.
Despite being barred from holding public office since a 2021 congressional vote, Vizcarra had signalled plans to run in next year’s elections, capitalising on his enduring popularity.
Peru’s current president, Dina Boluarte, took office in December 2022 after the impeachment and arrest of leftist Pedro Castillo for attempting to dissolve congress. Both Boluarte and the legislature face approval ratings below 5%, reflecting deep public discontent with the country’s political establishment.
