Peru’s president could go to jail for 15 years if presidential plane scandal is proven

A journalistic report of the Centro Liber portal revealed that an unknown person accompanied Peru’s president Pedro Castillo on an official trip in the presidential plane.

All suspicions point to the fact that the mysterious crew member would have been Fray Vásquez Castillo, nephew of the Peruvian president and fugitive from justice since March.

According to the investigation of Centro Liber, in a trip made by Castillo to the city of Chiclayo last June 23, the name of one of the crew members registered as the “nephew” stands out.

The portal requested information from the Peruvian Air Force (FAP) based on the Transparency Law.

In its report, Centro Liber highlighted that in the entourage that boarded the presidential plane were Arnold Castillo Paredes, son of the head of state; his two cousins Christian Ríos and Kevin Castillo; and the name “Lay Vásquez Castillo”, who was registered as “nephew” of the president with DNI number 97069630.

After verifying in the National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (Reniec) database, the DNI of the person identified as “Lay Vásquez Castillo” was not found, and he did not even return from his trip to the capital.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating Vásquez Castillo for allegedly having committed the crime of aggravated conspiracy and criminal organization for the Tarata Bridge case.

The Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office is following the case to determine if a former Minister of Transportation, six legislators, a former Secretary General of the Presidency, and two nephews of the leftist president were part of an alleged criminal network headed by Castillo himself to grant a public works contract.

FIFTEEN YEARS IN PRISON FOR BEING A PUBLIC OFFICIAL

Given the questions, which have been getting worse since the publication of Centro Liber’s report, the specialist in criminal law, Romy Chang, pronounced herself about the consequences that Pedro Castillo would face if it is proved that “Lay Vásquez” is the false identity of his fugitive nephew.

In a conversation with RPP Noticias, Chang indicated that the Peruvian president could go to jail for up to 15 years for being a public official.

“It is very intangible because it is an official document that makes it necessary to start an investigation at the Public Prosecutor’s Office level, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with the law.

“If it is corroborated that this is true, there will be several consequences, starting with the serious crimes of personal cover-up, which, in the case of public officials, as is the case of the president, can reach up to 15 years in prison,” he said.

Castillo would not only face these criminal consequences, as he would also have committed the crime of obstruction of justice.

For the criminal lawyer, it is necessary to receive the testimonies and statements of the passengers who traveled on that date since the list also includes journalists of the State channel and other public officials.

“It is necessary to see how the trip took place and the structure of the presidential plane, for example.

“All this will have to be investigated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office. It could be that the plane has reserved areas where a person could have entered without being seen by others and could have left, in the same way, without being seen,” he said.

With information from Gaceta