Vizcarra, the former president of Peru, is sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption
A Peruvian court sentenced former President Martin Vizcarra to 14 years in prison on Wednesday, adding him to a litany of former presidents incarcerated for corruption after he was found guilty of accepting bribes years prior to taking office.
Vizcarra was found guilty of accepting $676,000 in bribery from construction companies in exchange for public works contracts during his tenure as governor of the southern Moquegua province from 2011 to 2014.
Vizcarra has disputed the charges throughout the trial, which started in October of last year, and has maintained that he is a victim of political persecution. He took office in 2018 following the resignation of his predecessor, who was removed by Congress two years later due to graft investigations.
Vizcarra wrote, “This is not justice, it is revenge,” on X following his punishment. “But they will not break me.”
The conviction, which also barred Vizcarra from holding public office for nine years, was confirmed to have been appealed by his legal team.
The former president has been a major consultant to his older brother, Mario Vizcarra, who intends to run for president in the April 2026 elections for the “Peru First” party.
“The polling booth has the solution. The former leader declared, “My brother, Mario Vizcarra, will carry on this battle.”
Despite receiving the most votes of any congressional candidate in the 2021 election, Vizcarra, a center-left contender, was later barred from public office by Congress for ten years for dissolving the legislature in 2019.
For the prosecution team looking into the “Lava Jato” scam—a large payment scheme involving the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht, renamed Novonor (ODBES.UL)—his conviction represents yet another high-profile win. The scandal has ensnared political elites throughout Latin America.
The state’s witnesses, according to Vizcarra’s attorney Erwin Siccha, were executives from businesses that Vizcarra had previously accused of wrongdoing.
Since 2018, Peru has experienced six different presidents owing to resignations and impeachments that are frequently sparked by corruption scandals.
Vizcarra is anticipated to be sent to the same prison in Lima that houses three other former presidents. Ollanta Humala and Alejandro Toledo are both serving time for offenses related to corruption, and Pedro Castillo is detained on allegations of rebellion.
