Tensions are growing between the public powers of Peru amid political instability and social unrest in the country. The opening of an investigation into an alleged corruption network in the Public Ministry, supposedly led by the attorney general, Patricia Benavides, opened a new crisis in the nation, in which the country’s president, Dina Boluarte, and Congress ended up being involved. . After learning of the opening of the case, Benavides dismissed the special prosecutor in charge of the investigation and denounced Boluarte to Congress for four deaths during the anti-government protests of 2022 and 2023.
This Monday, November 27, the Special Team of Prosecutors against Corruption of the Power of Peru (Eficcop) arrested one of the advisors of the Attorney General of the Nation, Patricia Benavides, for an alleged case of corruption within the Public Ministry .
Advisor Jaime Villanueva Barreto was arrested and his home and office were raided this Monday, in the midst of an Eficcop investigation into the existence of a network that allegedly “illegally influenced decisions of congressmen.”
Miguel Ángel Girao Isidro, another advisor to Benavides, and Abel Hurtado Espinoza, parliamentary coordinator, are also accused of participating in the alleged network.
This Monday, Eficcop issued arrest and search warrants for a Villanueva property, along with his office at the Public Ministry and the registration of two vehicles in his name. The order was also supported by the Seventh National Preparatory Investigation Court after ruling in favor of a request from the special team.
According to sources consulted by the RPP station, The objective of the alleged criminal network was to “illicitly influence decisions of congressmen”. According to Eficcop data, mentioned by several local media, advisors to the prosecutor would have agreed with some legislators in cases such as the election of the Ombudsman, Josué Gutiérrez; the dismissal of the former prosecutor of the Nation Zoraida Ávalos and a dismissal of the members of the National Board of Justice, an organization that can dismiss Benavides.
After learning of the investigation against his advisor, Prosecutor Benavides dismissed the Eficcop coordinator, Marita Barreto, and removed Villanueva from her position..
Lawyer Luciano Flores indicated in his X account that he will assume the defense of Barreto’s rights and that of the colonels of the National Police of Peru (PNP) Harvey Colchado and Walter Lozano, also members of Eficcop.
#ATTENTION I just spoke with Dr. #MaritaBarreto to assume their defense, as well as Colonels Harvey Colchado and Walter Lozano, leaders of the special team.
Not only are their rights as honest officials at stake. So is democracy and the fight against… https://t.co/aXYOxUvhKk— Luciano López Flores (@lucianolopez27) November 27, 2023
Flores assured that “not only are their rights as honest officials at stake. So is democracy and the fight against corruption. “It’s time to add.”
The Attorney General of Peru is denounced in Congress
Ruth Luque, left-wing congresswoman, presented this Monday a constitutional complaint against the attorney general, after the Eficcop investigation came to light.
In his X account, Luque claimed to have denounced Benavides in Congress “for various violations of the Constitution and crimes.” “His presence at the head of the Public Ministry It is a direct threat to the principle of separation of powers on which our democracy is founded, has perverted the legal and political spheres,” he asserted.
I have filed a Constitutional Complaint against Patricia Benavides for various violations of the Constitution and crimes. Her presence at the head of the Public Ministry is a direct threat to the principle of separation of powers on which our democracy is founded, it has perverted… pic.twitter.com/kG6B1c2FSa
— Ruth Luque (@RuthLuqueIbarra) November 27, 2023
The legislator attached a document in which she indicates that the attorney general “abused her status and took advantage of the powers conferred as a representative of the Public Ministry (…) she would have incurred in violation of various articles of the Political Constitution of Peru.”
For his part, Eduardo Arana, Minister of Justice and Human Rights, assured that he is “surprised and worried” after learning of the crisis facing the Peruvian Public Ministry; At the same time, he urged prosecutor Barreto, dismissed this Monday by Benavides, to continue the investigation into him.
On Canal N, a local television outlet, Congresswoman Luque added that what “has happened is an outcome of the serious undemocratic deterioration” that the country faces.
At the same time, Luque also pointed out that the political forces in Congress “must decide which side they are on,” in reference to the expectation of the reaction of the State Powers to what happened between Benavides, his advisors and Eficcop.
Pablo Sánchez and Juan Villena, supreme prosecutors of Peru, demanded that Benavides resign for allegedly being linked “in the commission of serious acts subject to criminal investigation.”
In a letter that Sánchez and Villena published in the local media, they ask the attorney general for the following: “We demand that she resign from the position of prosecutor of the Nation, in order not to affect the investigation carried out by our institution.”
Both are part of the Board of Supreme Prosecutors – made up of six members – and added that the criminal investigation being carried out against Benavides “is not consistent with due performance of his position as the highest representative of the Public Ministry.”
The prosecutor denounces the president of Peru for deaths during the protests
Benavides defended herself in a statement, accompanied by two of the six supreme prosecutors, in which she said that the investigation is a “premeditated attack” and a “clumsy attempt” by the “powerful who do not want to be investigated.”
After defending his management, announced that he filed a complaint in Congress against the country’s president, Dina Boluarteand the prime minister, Alberto Otálora, for four deaths during the anti-government protests of 2022 and 2023.
“I inform that I have filed a constitutional complaint before the Congress of the Republic against citizens Dina Boluarte and Luis Alberto Otárola,” said Benavides.
Benavides’ complaint points to the country’s current head of state and the three former Ministers of the Interior who held office during the height of the demonstrations: César Cervantes, Víctor Rojas and Vicente Romero. The attorney general accuses them of allegedly committing the crime of qualified homicide.
In relation to the case that Benavides faces due to the Eficcop investigation, the official assured: “The last hours are a demonstration of those who do not want to be investigated and still have the capacity to exercise retaliation against the institution that I represent. “With this clumsy act that seeks to destabilize the independence and autonomy of the Public Ministry using the mechanism of using some prosecutors for such a despicable purpose.”
At the same time, he stated that he will continue to investigate senior officials allegedly related to the “tragic deaths that occurred between December 2022 and March 2023” in the protests and other “emblematic cases.”
Last month, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office extended the investigation it is carrying out to clarify the deaths during the demonstrations for an additional eight months.
Boluarte went to testify in that case before the Prosecutor’s Office on September 27, after reiterating the explanations that he had already given in June of this year about the dozens of deaths that occurred during the anti-government demonstrations; Then he asked that the investigation – still ongoing – against him be closed.
The Peruvian president was summoned as part of the preliminary investigation opened against her and other high authorities of her Government for alleged commission of the crimes of “genocide”, qualified homicide and abuse of authority, after the death of at least 77 people in the mobilizations, 49 of them in direct clashes with the security forces.
What will happen now?
The complaints against the head of state of Peru They can only be presented to Congresssince it is a case registered while she was serving as president, so It will be the Legislature that indicates whether it accepts it for processing and if, at the same time, decisions are made regarding the senior officials involved.
The Peruvian Constitution establishes, in its article 117, that a sitting president can only be accused of treason, for the irregular dissolution of Parliament or for preventing the functioning of electoral bodies, among a list of constitutional assumptions.
Nonetheless, The attorney general denounced Pedro Castillo in 2022, then president of the country. According to the explanations of the Prosecutor’s Office at that time, this type of constitutional complaints are a procedure that makes it possible to determine whether people with immunity have committed crimes during the exercise of their functions.
The Legislature suspended the plenary session scheduled for Monday; During the next few days the debate will be on whether the institution should continue with the complaint against Boluarte. The above represents a decision that could lead to the country’s crisis in a new clash of powers or the protection of the president..
Not only is the future of the president at stake, it is still uncertain what will happen with the complaints against prosecutor Benavides and her alleged illicit clan. The official could be dismissed by the Superior Board of Prosecutors or by the JNJ.
In any case, the events of recent days in the Peruvian political sphere reflect how weakened the public powers in the country are and what could represent an institutional crisis in the Latin American nation.
With EFE and local media
#Clash #powers #president #Peru #attorney #general #midst #case #alleged #corruption