Peru’s attorney general’s anti-corruption unit arrested six people on Monday, including at least three generals, as part of an investigation into allegations that ousted former president Pedro Castillo’s government promoted police and military personnel in a scheme involving illegal payments.
According to Peruvian newspapers La República and El Comercio, the generals are members of the Peruvian National Police (PNP); the number of officers, however, differs between them —three and five, respectively.
“Police agents, in coordination with the Public Ministry, carried out a major operation that allowed the arrest of six people who would be linked to a corruption case involving irregular promotions in the police institution”, says a statement from the Ministry of the Interior.
The folder reported that among those arrested are “three generals of arms of the police in activity”, according to the AFP news agency.
According to the Public Ministry, the detained generals would be involved in an irregular scheme carried out in 2021, in which they would rise in office after making payments. The operation, according to the Ministry, was authorized by then-president Pedro Castillo, deposed after a failed coup d’état attempt.
The arrest took place during a police operation carried out at dawn in the cities of Lima, Cusco, Tacna and Tumbes.
Two houses belonging to the former Minister of Defense, Walter Ayala, also investigated for the same case, were searched, where documents were seized. Ayala criticized the search of the properties and the arrest of the generals.
“That was unnecessary because they didn’t find anything,” Ayala told reporters. “This investigation is over a year old … that’s a show.”
Former General Commanders of the Army, José Vizcarra, and of the Air Force of Peru, Jorge Chaparro, denounced in November 2021 that the government had pressured them to promote officers who did not meet the requirements to move up in office. The complaint put the case under the spotlight of the press.
Former President Pedro Castillo was removed from office and jailed after a failed coup attempt on December 7. After the inauguration of his deputy, Dina Boluarte, his supporters took to the streets to ask, among others, for the dissolution of Congress. The acts closed airports, blocked highways and led to at least 27 deaths – forcing Dina to declare a state of emergency for 30 days.
The president managed to approve in Congress the anticipation of the country’s general elections from 2026 to 2024.
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