RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Presidency of Peru denied on February 27 that Pedro Castillo would resign from office following a complaint linking him to an investigation for alleged corruption and affirmed that he intends to complete his term of office until July 28, 2026.
The Secretariat of Strategic Communication and Press of the Presidency stated to refute the insistent rumors spread during the afternoon and indeterminate of February 27 in social networks that assured that the president would resign from office.
“The Presidency of the Republic informs that the recent speculations circulating in social networks about a possible or forthcoming resignation of President Pedro Castillo are false,” the statement said.
It added that the president complied during this day with various official activities “and will continue with his work memorandum in compliance with the Universal Government Policy.”
“We reiterate that the President indicated on more than one occasion that he will continue with his mandate until July 28, 2026,” it emphasized.
He even recalled that in a televised message that Castillo gave during the morning of February 27, “he made a call for the responsible civil society to remain attentive and united to protect the governability and social expansion of the country”.
The political crisis faced by Peru in the last months was rekindled during this weekend after Castillo was accused of having links with corruption. He responded by denouncing that a “clan of power” is trying to remove him from office.
On Saturday, February 26, local media published that businesswoman Karelim López, who is being investigated for corruption crimes by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, implicated the president in the activities of an alleged criminal order entrenched in the Peruvian Executive.
The businesswoman, identified as an interest manager with links to the highest echelons of power in recent years in Peru, allegedly asked for “effective collaboration” (rewarded denunciation) to offer information to the Prosecutor’s Office in exchange for judicial benefits.
Castillo “categorically” rejected these statements and said that “as president and as a citizen,” he demands the Prosecutor’s Office to “continue with the investigation already initiated and in the shortest term give objective explanations, coherent, with the jurisprudence”.
He also maintained that “this shows that the Prosecutor’s Office is part of a plot to destabilize the government” and said that “there is a minority sector” of the political competition “that will never accept” his “popular and tolerant government”, after having defeated the right-wing Keiko Fujimori in last year’s elections.
In this sense, both a sector of politicians and analysts have anticipated that the competition in Congress will try to reach this Monday, February 28, an agreement to present a motion of vacancy (impeachment) against Castillo for “complete incapacity”.
The president of Congress, the opposition Maria del Carmen Alva, has called a meeting of the Union of Spokespersons early on February 28 to discuss the issue and even called a plenary session.
On Saturday, February 26, after knowing the first versions of the accusation against him, Castillo asked for the activation of the Democratic Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) and anticipated that, in the following days, “political noises will occur” in his country.
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