In a landmark decision underscoring the deep roots of political corruption in Peru, former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, have been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The sentence is for laundering money received from Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government to support his election campaigns in 2006 and 2011.
Humala, once a military officer who governed Peru from 2011 to 2016, was immediately detained following the ruling.
Judge Nayko Coronado, who presided over the case, also ordered Heredia’s arrest after she failed to appear in court and instead sought political asylum at Brazil’s embassy in Lima.
After negotiations, Peru’s foreign ministry confirmed that she and her child were allowed safe passage to Brazil.
The charges centred on accusations that the couple accepted $3 million in unlawful funds from Odebrecht for Humala’s successful 2011 campaign and $200,000 from Hugo Chávez for his earlier failed bid.
Heredia was also convicted of hiding property acquisitions tied to the illicit funds. Despite the 15-year sentence, prosecutors had originally sought even longer terms 26 years for Heredia and 20 for Humala.
The couple has continually denied the accusations, with Humala arguing in court that the case was orchestrated to damage him politically. His legal team plans to appeal the verdict.
This conviction adds another chapter to the far-reaching Odebrecht scandal, which continues to expose systemic corruption at the highest levels of Peruvian politics.
Odebrecht, in 2016, admitted to paying nearly $800 million in bribes across Latin America and Africa $29 million of which was directed to Peruvian officials between 2005 and 2014.
The fallout in Peru has been severe. Former leader Alan Garcia took his own life during a police raid in 2019, Alejandro Toledo received a sentence of over 20 years for similar offences, and investigations into Pedro Pablo Kuczynski are ongoing.
Keiko Fujimori, a prominent opposition figure, also faced detention due to her alleged involvement with Odebrecht-linked funding.
This latest verdict reinforces the enduring impact of the corruption probe on Peru’s political system, spotlighting the extent to which illicit campaign financing has shaped the country’s democratic processes.