Peruvian ex-President Martin Vizcarra sentenced to 14 years in prison

Former president Martin Vizcarra was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 14 years in prison by a Peruvian court. He was the governor of Moquegua’s southern region.

The court also handed Vizcarra a nine-year ban from running for office as well as a fine in its decision on Wednesday.

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He is scheduled to begin serving his prison sentence right away. However, Vizcarra indicated that he intends to challenge the verdict against him.

In response to the verdict, Vizcarra wrote on social media that “this is not justice, it is retribution.” They won’t, however, break me.

He had been found guilty of accepting bribes worth more than $600,000 in exchange for Moquegua contracts for large-scale projects.

Vizcarra, who is currently the Peru First party’s leader, presided over Moquegua from 2011 to 2014 before becoming president from 2018 to 2020.

He joins three other former Peruvian presidents who are currently serving prison sentences, according to experts who believe this trend highlights the country’s political system’s endemic instability and corruption. Former leaders are facing ongoing criminal charges.

Since 2018, Peru has had six presidents. Some have been impeached, while others have resigned as a result of corruption scandals.

After Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s predecessor, Vizcarra himself, was the subject of an internal investigation, Vizcarra became president.

In 2018 as the question of whether Kuczynski attempted to influence congressional votes to prevent impeachment grew, Kuczynski ultimately resigned. He also faced criticism for his involvement in the Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht’s bribery scandals.

Less than three years were spent on Vizcarra’s term. He was deposed by the opposition in 2020 after allegations of corruption, and he too faced impeachment.

The former president has vigorously refuted accusations of wrongdoing and alleged political motivations in his impeachment and prosecution. In addition to Martin serving as a close advisor to the Peru First party, his older brother, Mario Vizcarra, is a likely candidate for president in 2026.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Vizcarra wrote, “They have sentenced me for facing the mafioso pact.”

Voters will have their turn to cast ballots at the ballot box the following year, he added, and his brother will “continue the fight.”