Lima, Peru – Martín Vizcarra, who served as Peruvian president from 2018 to 2020, was taken on Thursday, August 14 to the Barbadillo prison in Lima to serve five months of pretrial detention.
The measure was ordered by Judge Jorge Chávez Tamaris, who is investigating Vizcarra for allegedly receiving 2.3 million soles ($621,000 USD) in bribes related to two major public works contracts: the Lomas de Ilo agricultural project and the Moquegua Regional Hospital during his term as regional governor of the southwestern department of Moquegua from 2011 to 2014.
According to the Public Ministry, the then-governor received 1.3 million soles ($351,000 USD) from the Peruvian ICCGSA-Incot consortium for the Moquegua hospital project, and 1 million soles ($270,000 USD) from the Italo-Peruvian Obrainsa-Astaldi consortium for the Lomas de Ilo project.
These payments were made to secure the companies’ bidding victories and construction contracts, constituting a corruption offense.
With this ruling, Vizcarra joins former presidents Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), and Pedro Castillo (2021-2022), who are all currently serving time in the same facility.
Other former heads of state, including Alberto Fujimori and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski also served time in Barbadillo; Kuczynski is currently serving three years under house arrest.
Judge Chávez Tamaris argued that Vizcarra poses a flight risk as the trial nears its final stage, citing his lack of stable employment and family ties. From the outset of the hearing, the judge emphasized that the former president’s personal, professional, and family circumstances do not guarantee his continued presence in the courts. “There are no family ties,” Chávez Tamariz said, noting that Vizcarra’s wife and minor son permanently live in Moquegua while he resides in Lima.
The prosecution had requested six months of pretrial detention, but the judge reduced it to five. The Attorney General’s Office is seeking a 15-year prison sentence.
Prosecutor Elio Riera said a conviction against Vizcarra was “inevitable” given the progress of the trial.
“We are in the final stretch. All that’s left is to assess the last documents and hear the closing arguments. Most likely, there will be a guilty verdict, making it difficult to overturn the pretrial detention,” he told Radio Nacional.
Riera stressed the judge weighed three factors before issuing the measure: the existence of solid evidence, the potential sentence, and the defendant’s lack of community ties.
He also criticized the former president’s legal strategy: “Vizcarra was confident he would win, but he did not strengthen his ties to the country. He even traveled to the provinces and went to border areas, which raised doubts about whether he would remain in the [Peru].”
Hours before his arrest, Vizcarra posted a video on social media accusing a “mafia pact” of running the country and calling the ruling politically motivated. “Enough of this mafia and corrupt pact that is governing us and taking over Peru,” he said, adding he had learned of the decision two days earlier.
The former president’s lawyer, Edwin Siccha, said he would appeal, arguing Vizcarra does have ties to the country he led. Riera noted, however, that “he must now file the appeal and wait for a hearing to be scheduled- but time is running out.”
Vizcarra is also under investigation for alleged illicit payments in 2016, when he was transport minister and vice president under Kuczynski. That case could be resolved throughout 2025, adding to the long list of corruption scandals involving former Peruvian heads of state.
Featured image:
Image: Martín Vizcarra delivering a presidential address, 2020
Author: Presidencia de Peru
Source: Flickr
License: Creative Commons Licenses
