On 20 November Wigberto Nicanor Boluarte, the brother of Peru’s President Dina Boluarte, did not attend a court session where he was sentenced to three years’ pre-trial detention for alleged influence peddling.
Analysis:
President Boluarte’s brother is officially a fugitive from justice after he skipped his sentencing. Allegedly a central figure in a bribery and corruption racket at the heart of government, Nicanor Boluarte’s fugitive status only adds to the laundry list of alleged criminality and scandal in his sister’s administration. President Boluarte herself is the subject of numerous investigations for alleged bribery, genocide, illicit enrichment, obstruction of justice, money laundering, criminal organisation, and receiving illegal political donations. There is little room for the latest setback to dent her approval rating, which stood at just 3% in a survey by local pollster Datum published on 18 November. Whilst the government claims that the investigations are a politicised attempt to trigger impeachment proceedings against Boluarte, she retains the support of right-wing parties in congress which appear happy to prop up the government until the 2026 general elections.
- The president’s brother skipped the hearing where Judge Richard Concepción Carhuancho sentenced him to three years’ preventive detention. Prosecutors had requested the pre-trial detention arguing that Nicanor Boluarte, who missed his last two court dates, presented a flight risk. He was first arrested in May this year and is being investigated for his alleged role in two influence peddling schemes – the ‘Rolexgate’ scandal, concerning alleged bribery of President Boluarte, and for alleged involvement in another corruption scheme reported by the media in November 2023.
- Prosecutors claim that Nicanor Boluarte is a leading figure in a corruption ring labelled ‘Waykis en la Sombra’, which allegedly also includes President Boluarte’s former lawyer, Mateo Castañeda, and the governor of Ayacucho region, Wilfredo Oscorima.
- Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzén characterised the court ruling as “the judicialisation of politics”. Playing down the significance of Nicanor Boluarte’s fugitive status, Adrianzén dismissed “the ludicrous idea that there is a criminal organisation [in government]”, which he said had been fabricated to secure President Boluarte’s impeachment.
Looking Ahead: In a separate significant court ruling yesterday, supreme court justice Juan Carlos Checkley ordered the beginning of oral proceedings in the trial of former president Pedro Castillo (2021-2022). Prosecutors are seeking a 34-year prison sentence for Castillo, who was impeached and arrested after illegally dissolving congress, resulting in Boluarte – his vice president – assuming the presidency.