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Peru’s former president Alejandro Toledo has been extradited from the United States to face the consequences of his alleged part in a massive bribery scheme.
He landed in Lima on Sunday to answer charges that he netted millions of dollars in the corruption scandal, one that allegedly involves four Peruvian ex-presidents..
Toledo, 77, served as president from 2001 to 2006 and allegedly took at least $20 million in bribes from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. The company has admitted to decades of bribes with officials throughout Latin America to win contracts.
In 2017, Toledo shrugged off his impending arrest and dismissed the charges as a “Machiavellian distortion of politics.” Peru had offered a $30,000 reward for his capture, but the U.S. at first refused to comply. He was arrested in July 2019 and held in solitary confinement until being released to house arrest in 2020 due to declining mental health and the COVID pandemic as he fought extradition.
Peru had offered a $30,000 reward for his capture, but the U.S. at first refused to comply. He was arrested in July 2019 and held in solitary confinement until being released to house arrest later that year due to declining mental health as he fought extradition.
He arrived in Lima looking disheveled and harried after surrendering to U.S. authorities on Friday.
He’ll be detained at a police base on Lima’s outskirts, possibly alongside former presidents Alberto Fujimori and Pedro Castillo, who are being held at the same facility, according to Reuters. Fujimori is serving 25 years for human rights abuses, while Castillo is being held pending trial over offenses allegedly committed in trying to dissolve Congress illegally in December, Reuters reported.
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Three other ex-leaders are caught up in the same bribery scandal as Toledo. Former President Ollanta Humala is on trial over allegations that Odebrecht paid him and his wife more than $3 million for his 2006 and 2011 campaigns. Under house arrest on similar charges is Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who left office in 2018.
All have denied the charges against them.
Alan García committed suicide with a shot to the head in 2019 as police closed in to arrest him. He served in the presidency from 2006 to 2011.
With News Wire Services
Theresa Braine
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