My Ollanta Humala, former president of Peru, has returned to the front pages. He was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to 15 years in Federal Prison. The ruling came from a court in Lima, where the ex-army officer had appeared in person to face the proceedings. His wife, Nadine Heredia, was indicted. She monitored the verdict through video link from Brazil, which has granted her asylum.
Humala’s political journey has been tumultuous. He first came to national attention as an army officer who successfully battled the Maoist Shining Path insurgents. In 2000, he led a failed coup attempt by military disgruntled with President Alberto Fujimori. This was his surprising and radical entrance into the political establishment. In his subsequent years in office, Humala entered into the proverbial bed with the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez. This new connection quickly generated a firestorm of controversy.
Indeed, prosecutors claimed that, during his first presidential run in 2006, Humala had received illicit funds from Chávez to finance his campaign. This promise became a key campaign theme in his first presidential run in 2006 against opponent Alan García. García also used Humala’s ties to Chávez to make vicious attacks on his character, casting him as a radical leftist flavor of the month. Even with these hurdles, Humala stood for election again in 2011, this time positioning himself as a tamer centrist in a move that won him the presidency.
Humala and his spouse faced criminal charges. They were both accused of having taken millions in bribes from the Brazilian construction colossus Odebrecht. As investigations escalated, the couple was put in pre-trial detention in 2017. As the case continued to unravel, it garnered enormous media coverage and public outrage, exposing serious fissures of corruption within the scope of Peruvian politics.
Beyond the terms of Humala’s prison sentence, the conviction has significant implications for his political legacy. The former president sought to replicate his policies in the mold of Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was determined to expand social programs and lead economic development while in office. The clout corruption allegations have overshadowed these efforts and completely undermined his reputation.
Nadine Heredia’s situation remains precarious. She has recently received asylum in Brazil. Her own future is very much up in the air as she gets ready to head there soon with her son. The legal battles fought over both her and Humala are emblematic of the still-waging civil war within Peru’s political system.
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