Los Angeles United States.- The United States Attorney’s Office asked a California judge to revoke the bail of former President Alejandro Toledo to execute the extradition to Peru decided this week by Washington.
“Given that Toledo has failed in his attempt to suspend the extradition request, and his surrender was authorized, Toledo must be detained so that the government can turn him over to the Peruvian authorities,” says a request filed by the United States attorney.
The document was delivered to the Northern District Court of California, which must respond in a hearing on March 9.
Alejandro Toledo, 76, is required by the Peruvian justice system for accusations of corruption and money laundering.
The former president (2001-2006) was arrested in 2019 in California, where he resided.
He was placed on home detention in 2020, after posting bail, and has since lived at home in San Francisco, near Stanford University, where he studied and worked.
With his passport retained by US justice, he is also watched with an electronic shackle.
According to the US prosecutor’s office, under the current conditions “his risk of flight has increased”, therefore “Toledo should no longer be free”.
Peruvian prosecutors are asking for a sentence of 20 years and six months in prison for the former president.
Toledo is accused by Lima of having received millions of dollars from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for obtaining bids for public works.
The former president denies the accusations and tried several legal resources to block the extradition request that Peru has been seeking since 2018.
However, Judge Thomas Hixson of the Northern District Court of California authorized the request in September last year, leaving the final decision in the hands of the State Department, which authorized the request this week.
The testimonies of former collaborator Josef Maiman, and Jorge Barata, former Odebrecht representative in Peru, were key to this decision, with both stating that Toledo received bribes from the Brazilian construction giant.
Odebrecht recognized the payment of bribes in Brazil and other countries in the region in the framework of the Lava Jato scandal, which sent dozens of politicians and businessmen behind bars.
In addition to Toledo, four former Peruvian presidents face legal proceedings for corruption: Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018), Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) and Pedro Castillo (2021-2022).
Former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) was also convicted of corruption, and Alan García (2006-2011) committed suicide in 2019 when the police were about to arrest him on suspicion of being linked to the Odebrecht scandal.
Former President Toledo’s lawyers have not responded to AFP’s requests for information.
