Peru’s former president sentenced for conspiracy

LIMA, Peru — Peru’s Supreme Court sentenced former President Pedro Castillo to 11½ years in prison for conspiracy to commit a rebellion in 2022, when he tried to dissolve the Congress as lawmakers prepared to impeach him.

A special panel of the highest court also banned Castillo, 56, from public office for two years. He has been in custody since being arrested in December 2022.

Two of Castillo’s former ministers were also sentenced to 11½ years in prison for the same crime. One of them is ex-Prime Minister Betssy Chávez, who was granted asylum by Mexico and remains inside the Mexican embassy in Peru’s capital, Lima.

The Peruvian government severed diplomatic relations with Mexico over the asylum for Chávez.

Castillo and his former ministers can appeal the decision.

This is the second Peruvian ex-president sentenced this week. A different court on Wednesday sentenced former leader Martín Vizcarra to 14 years in prison after finding him guilty of taking bribes while serving as governor of a southern state.

Castillo promised to be a champion of the poor when he took office in 2021, becoming the first president in the nation’s history to come from a poor farming community. He assumed the presidency without any political experience.

Castillo was replaced by his vice president, Dina Boluarte, who in October was also removed from office after a deeply unpopular government and amid a crime wave affecting the South American nation. The current president is José Jerí, who was the Congress leader.