Peru arrests six generals amid graft investigation of ex-President Castillo

LIMA (Reuters) – The anti-corruption unit of Peru’s attorney general’s office on Monday detained six generals amid an investigation into allegations the government of ousted former President Pedro Castillo illegally promoted police and military officers.

Police also seized “documents and devices” during a raid of the home of Castillo’s former Defense Minister Walter Ayala, the anti-corruption unit said.

Castillo, who was arrested earlier this month after lawmakers voted him out of office for attempting to illegally dissolve Congress, is being investigated for influence peddling. He faces six separate charges of corruption, all of which he has denied.

“Through these interventions, six of those investigated were arrested. The proceedings … include 26 raids nationwide,” the attorney general’s office said on Twitter.

The leftist former president is serving 48 months of pretrial detention while he is being investigated on charges of “rebellion.”

The attorney general’s office said on Twitter the detained generals are being investigated for “allegedly having paid to rise in rank in 2021 with the authorization of former President Pedro Castillo.”

Former Defense Minister Ayala criticized the search of his home and the arrest of the generals.

“This has been unnecessary, because they haven’t found anything,” Ayala told reporters. “This investigation is over a year old … this is a show.”

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Alistair Bell)