Two former presidents jailed within two days

Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo is one of two former leaders of the South American country to be jailed within days.

The leftist leader was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Thursday for trying to dissolve Peru’s Congress and enact a decree in 2022. The gamble failed and he was impeached and arrested.

The Supreme Court found him guilty of “conspiracy to rebel” and passed the sentence concurrently with his conviction.

Castillo was sentenced just a day after another former Peruvian president, Martín Vizcarra, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for taking bribes while serving as regional governor.

The centrist politician, who strongly supported the fight against corruption during his time in office, was found guilty of bribery while serving as governor of the Moquegua region from 2011 to 2014.

Prosecutors said he accepted bribes worth more than $600,000 (£453,753) from construction companies seeking public works contracts. Vizcarra has always maintained his innocence.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court acquitted Castillo of two other charges.

Castillo, a former union member and rural school teacher known as Peru’s first poor president, won power in 2021 amid frustration with traditional politics.

His arrest and impeachment triggered Deadly mass protests in 2022 among his working-class rural base. The protests were brutally suppressed by security forces, leaving at least 50 people dead.

Dozens of Castillo’s supporters gathered Thursday outside the prison where he is being held to await sentencing, AFP reported.

One supporter, Julia Buendia, told the news organization she still believed Castillo was innocent.

Vizcarra and Castillo are the latest in a series of former Peruvian presidents to be jailed for misconduct.

Ollanta Humala served as the country’s president from 2011 to 2016 Sentenced to 15 years in prison for money laundering earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Alejandro Toledo, who ruled the city from 2001 to 2006, was sentenced last year Jailed for more than 20 years for taking $35m (£26m) bribe from a construction company.

Peru has been plagued by political crises in recent years.

October, Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Peruvian capital Lima, injuring one person and more than 100 people.

The protests came after current President José Yeri was temporarily sworn in following the impeachment of his predecessor, Dina Boluate.

Boluate dismissed by MPs Peru’s soaring crime rate leads to ‘permanent moral incompetence’.

Her presidency has been overshadowed by multiple investigations, including A corruption investigation known as “Rolexgate”regarding allegations that she accepted a Rolex watch as a bribe.