The Peruvian prison built specifically to house disgraced former presidents will soon run out of space if former president Alejandro Toledo is extradited from the United States, as expected.
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The Barbadillo prison –on the outskirts of Lima– is currently occupied by former President Alberto Fujimori, held there since 2007 for the murders committed during his government by death squads. It is also inside the premises Pedro Castillowho attempted a coup in December.
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Adding a third presidential inmate means exceeding the capacity of two people established in the documents published by the National Penitentiary Institute (Inpe).
This politically volatile Andean nation, which has been in crisis for years, has_an unprecedented record of removing and prosecuting its former presidents more than anywhere else in the world.
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Each of the six Peruvian presidents elected since 1990 is in jail, has been in jail, or is facing a warrant for his arrest.
After a long process, Peruvian officials announced on February 21 that Toledo, accused of negotiating bribes, will be extradited to stand trial in Lima.
(In context: the US authorizes the extradition to Peru of former President Alejandro Toledo)
Although he was granted a brief pardon Thursday night, he has an outstanding warrant for his arrest in the country, raising questions as to whether he will be in the same facility that houses the other former leaders. The Prosecutor’s Office, meanwhile, says that his extradition is only a matter of time.
“That is the prison that corresponds to him for having been president,” César Nakazaki, a Peruvian lawyer who has defended three former presidents in criminal proceedings, two of whom have been in Barbadillo, told Bloomberg.
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An Inpe representative, who asked not to be named to discuss policy decisions, said that the Barbadillo prison could house a third presidential prisoner even if it officially holds only two, without elaborating. Inpe declined to comment on this issue.
Peruvian prosecutors have been praised for their anti-corruption investigations against high-level officials in Peru, many accused of taking bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht SA.
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However, critics have accused them of abusing pretrial detention. Other than Fujimori, no former Peruvian president has been convicted of a crime.
The recurring presidential prosecutions help explain why Peru ended up with a special prison facility for former leaders.
The prison was initially built just to house Fujimori, according to Nakazaki. In 2000, Fujimori fled Peru for Japan and resigned by fax when his decade-long leadership collapsed amid allegations of corruption. He was finally brought to justice after being extradited from Chile.
In addition to Fujimori, Toledo and Castillo, three other former presidents have faced arrest warrants. Ollanta Humala, who governed between 2011 and 2016, was in Barbadillo due to allegations that Odebrecht had illegally financed his presidential campaign.
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In 2019, Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski was arrested for alleged ties to the same construction companybut was eventually placed under house arrest due to ill health.
And in the same year, Alan García, who ruled Peru twice, committed suicide just before being arrested on charges that he had also received illegal financing from Odebrecht.
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The presidential jail treatment has not been extended to Peru’s first ladies. Nadine Heredia, Humala’s wife, and Keiko Fujimori, who served as first lady under his father, have been incarcerated in the past, but in regular prisons.
Bloomberg
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