Vizcarra Imprisoned for Bribery Charges During Governorship
Barbadillo Prison Now Holds Four Former Presidents
In Peru, former President Martin Vizcarra has been incarcerated. As a result, the Peruvian political sphere now faces the disgrace of having four former presidents imprisoned in the same facility at the same time.
According to Yonhap News on August 15, the Peruvian National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) announced via its official social media account on the 14th (local time) that former President Vizcarra had been admitted to Barbadillo Prison, stating, "We will strictly adhere to inmate regulations in accordance with the law."
With this, Barbadillo Prison now holds a total of four former presidents: Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), and now Martin Vizcarra, marking an unprecedented situation.
Barbadillo Prison is also notable as the first place where former President Alberto Fujimori, who was convicted of authoritarian rule and human rights violations, was incarcerated. Former President Fujimori passed away last year.
Former President Vizcarra was indicted on charges of accepting 2.3 million soles (approximately 900 million won) from construction companies in exchange for facilitating public works contracts during his tenure as governor of Moquegua from 2011 to 2014. The Peruvian court ordered five months of pretrial detention for him the previous day.
Vizcarra assumed office in 2018, succeeding former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who resigned amid corruption scandals involving the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. However, Vizcarra clashed with Congress while pursuing anti-corruption reforms and was impeached in November 2020, with eight months left in his term, on grounds of "moral incapacity." The main reason for his impeachment at the time was also bribery allegations from his gubernatorial period.
Meanwhile, former President Toledo was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison for allegedly receiving $35 million (about 48.7 billion won) from Odebrecht and falsifying the origins of his assets. Former President Humala is currently serving a 15-year sentence for accepting $3 million (about 4.2 billion won) from the same company before taking office. Castillo, on the other hand, attempted to dissolve Congress in response to repeated impeachment attempts but failed, and is now on trial for charges of rebellion and abuse of power.
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