Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was the target of yet another corruption accusation by the country’s Public Ministry this Tuesday (11th). This is the sixth against him.
This time, however, the denunciation may actually influence the Peruvian leader’s departure from power. That’s because the indictment formalized this Tuesday is among those that allow the suspension of the president’s immunity – guaranteed by law in the country.
Prosecutors accuse Castillo of leading a government corruption scheme and helping allies avoid arrests for embezzling public funds. The accusation also affects former Housing Ministers Geiner Alvarado López and Transports Juan Silva Villegas – the latter has been on the run from the police since May.
“I present a constitutional complaint against José Pedro Castillo Terrones, in his capacity as President of the Republic, as the alleged author of crimes against public tranquility in the form of a criminal organization aggravated by his status as leader”, says the country’s prosecutor, Patricia Benavides, in a document posted on Twitter.
The complaint presented was sent to Parliament, where it will follow several steps. Before reaching the plenary, it will be analyzed by two commissions – the Peruvian legislature is led by the opposition. In the first collegiate, a deputy will be designated to present an initial report and, then, the arguments of the prosecution and the defense will be heard.
Also on Tuesday, the Public Ministry ordered the arrest of five Castillo allies. At the same time, in another operation, prosecutors led a search and seizure warrant at the home of the president’s sister and the properties of six lawmakers at the base of the government.
Castillo condemned the operation at his sister’s home and called the act abusive. This is not the first investigation against the president’s family; earlier this year, his sister-in-law was arrested on suspicion of corruption. Until the last update of this text, the Peruvian president had not yet commented on the complaint formalized this Tuesday.
The operations are likely to further weaken Castillo’s presidency at a time when lawmakers are openly discussing launching a new impeachment order against the leftist.
Castillo has survived two removal attempts since taking office in July last year, and is the subject of five other criminal investigations, which include alleged obstruction of justice and influence peddling.
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