Peru’s Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced leftist ex-president Pedro Castillo to more than 11 years in jail for trying to dissolve Congress and rule by decree to avoid impeachment.
Dubbed Peru’s first poor president, the former rural teacher, who had never held elected office before winning the presidency, was impeached by Congress and jailed following his attempted power grab in December 2022.
He had repeatedly clashed with an opposition-dominated Congress during his 16 months in power, accusing them of attempting to keep power in the hands of elites.
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The verdict in his case came a day after another left-wing ex-president, Martin Vizcarra, was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for bribe-taking while serving as a regional governor.
Vizcarra joined two other former presidents already behind bars at a special penitentiary for ex-leaders at a police base east of Lima on corruption charges: Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006).
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