A Peruvian court on Wednesday sentenced former President Martín Vizcarra to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of accepting bribes long before assuming the nation’s highest office, adding his name to a growing list of former leaders imprisoned for corruption.
According to the verdict, Vizcarra received payments totalling $676,000 from construction companies in exchange for awarding public works contracts while serving as governor of the southern Moquegua region between 2011 and 2014.
Throughout the trial, which opened in October last year, the former leader rejected all allegations, insisting he was the target of political persecution. Vizcarra, who took office in 2018 following the resignation of his predecessor, was himself removed by Congress two years later amid ongoing graft investigations.
“This is not justice, it is revenge,” he wrote on X shortly after the ruling. “But they will not break me.”
His legal team immediately appealed the conviction, which also disqualifies him from holding public office for nine years.
Despite the sentencing, Vizcarra remains an influential figure. His elder brother, Mario Vizcarra, is preparing to contest the April 2026 presidential election under the Peru First party—a platform where the former president has played a key advisory role.
“The answer lies in the voting booth. My brother, Mario Vizcarra, will continue this fight,” he said in another statement.
Vizcarra, a centre-left politician, won the highest number of votes for Congress in the 2021 elections. However, lawmakers barred him from holding public office for a decade after he dissolved Congress in 2019 during a constitutional crisis.
The conviction marks yet another significant win for prosecutors investigating the far-reaching Lava Jato corruption scheme. The scandal, centred on Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht—now called Novonor—has implicated political elites across Latin America.
Vizcarra’s lawyer, Erwin Siccha, argued that state witnesses were executives from firms that the former governor had previously accused of wrongdoing, suggesting a retaliatory motive.
Peru continues to grapple with dramatic political instability, having cycled through six presidents since 2018 due to impeachments, resignations and corruption probes. Vizcarra is expected to serve his sentence in the same Lima prison that houses three other former presidents.
Alejandro Toledo and Ollanta Humala are currently serving time for corruption convictions, while Pedro Castillo remains detained as he faces rebellion charges.
Melissa Enoch
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