Former Peru President Pedro Castillo sentenced to 11.5 years in prison

Former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo was given an 11-year, 5-month, and 15-day prison sentence for his efforts to dissolve Congress.

As he battled a third set of impeachment hearings on December 7, 2022, Castillo made the decision on Thursday.

The first two attempts to remove Castillo from office failed. However, Congress quickly approved his removal after he appeared on television to declare a state of emergency and suspend the legislature because it undermined the rule of law. The following day, he was detained.

Former teacher and union leader Castillo was accused of stoking the state’s accusation of rebellion and conspiracy to attack it for his alleged “self-coup”

Castillo, a left-leaning, socially conservative politician from Peru’s rural north, was sentenced to a maximum sentence of 34 years in prison.

Castillo’s actions were alleged to have been intended to undermine Peru’s Constitution. Castillo, however, refuted the accusations made against him at trial last week. He claimed in his 2022 televised speech that he had simply read out “a document without consequence.”

In recent years, Castillo is one of several presidents who has faced criminal charges and investigations in Peru. In just ten years, the nation has had eight presidents.

Given his working-class roots in Puna, the capital city, he was dubbed the nation’s first “president of the poor” after his surprise victory in the 2021 presidential election. He had never previously held office as president.

His brief, only 16-month tenure was defined by frequent altercations between his top ministers and opposition-led Congress.

Castillo’s arrest in 2022 sparked protests from his rural base, which frequently blocked roads in Peru’s south, especially among his own.

The country’s years-long protests were fueled by the unrest. Former Vice President Dina Boluarte, his successor, oversaw a brutal crackdown on the demonstrations that resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people.

The government is accused of using “disproportionate, indiscriminate, and lethal use of force” in response to the protests by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

In October, Boluarte, the nation’s first female president, was impeached over concerns about rising crime and her behavior-related investigations. Right-wing activist Jose Jeri, who formerly oversaw Peru’s Congress, has taken her place.

The nine-month trial, which was puncted by a diplomatic rift, comes to an end on Thursday with a sentencing.

Betssy Chavel, the former prime minister of Castillo and the former president’s attempt to consolidate power, was granted asylum by the Mexican embassy during the court proceedings.

After that, Peru’s government declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a “persona non grata,” a vocal supporter of Castillo.

Under house arrest, Castillo’s release is a possibility of his sentence. He will remain in Lima’s capital Barbadillo Prison along with several other former presidents. Located next to a police academy, the prison houses convicted leaders who might encounter safety issues in other detention facilities.

Ollanta Humala, who presided over the Barbadillo from 2011 to 2016, was given a 15-year prison sentence this year for money laundering.

Alejandro Toledo, who served between 2001 and 2006, received a 20-year prison sentence last year for accepting bribes. He is also incarcerated.