Alejandro Toledo arrested in the United States
This 16th of July, Peru’s Justice Ministry said on Twitter that the ex-president, Alejandro Toledo, was arrested due to the extradition request he had from March of last year.
History
Alejandro Toledo was president from 28 July 2001 to 28 July 2006, a period where the economy reached a growth of 7.5 %. This is when the construction company, Odebrecht, took the opportunity to secure several government deals, such as the highway through the Amazonian region. For several years, Toledo has been dismissing the Peruvian court orders to return to Peru, so he could face his accusations.
About Odebrecht
The Odebrecht company has been the centre of massive multinational corruption scandal. It is known that it paid about $800 million in bribes to governments across Latin America, including some of the Peruvian presidents. The other three peruvian presidents that have been involved in this scandal, are:
- Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (president 2016-2018) is being held in pre-trial detention because of accusations of graft
- Alan Garcia (president two times, between 1985-1990 and 2006-2011) shot himself before the police arrived to arrest him in connection to Odebrecht charges
- Ollanta Humala (president 2011-2016) is awaiting trial for accusations of graft and money laundering
Now, Toledo’s lawyers are trying to show that he is not guilty.
Featured Image: http://www.novaperu.info/data/fotos2/bbx_858299248_TOLEDO.jpg
