Peru launches collusion investigation into former President Pedro Castillo

Misty Severi

February 21, 07:01 PM February 21, 07:01 PM

Peru's attorney general launched a collusion investigation into former President Pedro Castillo on Tuesday over allegations stemming back to before his ousting and arrest last year.

Castillo has been accused of influence peddling, organized crime, and being an accomplice to collusion committed while he was the country's president in July 2021.

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The decision to open the investigation comes less than a week after the country's lawmakers decided to pass a constitutional complaint that allowed the investigation. Castillo has denied all charges against him.

Castillo is currently in police custody after he attempted to dissolve his country's Congress in December, shortly before lawmakers voted for his impeachment. Vice President Dina Boluarte has been ruling in his stead, but protesters in Peru have called for her resignation, early elections, and a new constitution. The current investigation stems from allegations made before he was arrested, according to Reuters.

Castillo also requested that he be released and reinstated as president, his former lawyer and minister Walter Ayala tweeted on Tuesday. The appeal was made to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Castillo's arrest has led to a wave of violent protests in the country that have left at least 60 dead. The single deadliest day of the violence saw 17 deaths in Juliaca, a city in the south of Peru.