The prosecutor of the Peruvian nation, Pablo Sánchez, has opened a preliminary investigation of the president, Pedro Castillo, for the alleged crimes of criminal organization, aggravated influence peddling and aggravated collusion “without prejudice to other” illicit acts that may be detected in the course of the inquiries.
The Public Ministry has reported on its Twitter account that Castillo has been incorporated into the investigation that Sánchez ordered in early May against the former Minister of Transport and Communications, Juan Silva, and six Popular Action congressmen known as the Children by the businesswoman. Karelim López, because they obeyed the president in everything.
Castillo “will be guaranteed the full exercise of his right to defense and respect for article 117 of the Political Constitution” which refers to the “exception to presidential immunity.”
Specifically, it specifies that the president «can only be accused during his term of treason; for preventing presidential, parliamentary, regional or municipal elections; for dissolving Congress except in the cases provided for in Article 134 of the Constitution, and for preventing its meeting or functioning, or those of the National Elections Jury and other electoral system bodies.”
The Prosecutor’s Office has also indicated that it has been ordered that “the preliminary statement” be taken from President Castillo, who has already been notified of the disposition.
On May 6, S ánchez opened a preliminary investigation against congressmen Raúl Doroteo, Elvis Vergara, Juan Carlos Moro, Jorge Luis Flores, Darwin Espinoza and Ilich López, all of them from Acción Popular, for alleged influence peddling, and against the former minister Transport and Communications Juan Silva for alleged collusion.
The Prosecutor’s Office is investigating whether they are part of an alleged criminal network that operated in the Ministry of Transport and Communications that would be led by the president, Pedro Castillo. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the alleged criminal organization had two groups with defined tasks. The first recruited and negotiated with businessmen and was made up of former Secretary General of the Presidency Bruno Pacheco, businessman Zamir Villaverde and two nephews of the president: Fray Vásquez Castillo and Gian Marco Castillo Gómez.
The second group would be responsible for the execution of the crime favoring certain companies in the contracts and would be made up of Decentralized Provías officials previously designated by former Minister Silva. The Prosecutor’s Office maintains that the organization had a vertical structure, with members at different levels.
Zoraida Ávalos, the former National Prosecutor, opened two investigations against President Castillo, although she suspended them until the end of her mandate, scheduled for July 2026. One was for the alleged irregularities in Petroperú and Provías Nacional, and the other for promotions in the Armed Forces and National Police.
