Up Next
The president of Peru has had her home raided by government agents investigating her over a collection of luxury watches.
TV footage sweeping the country late Friday night showed officers using a sledgehammer to break into Dina Boluarte’s residence in the capital Lima.
It comes after prosecutors began an investigation following a report by internet program La-Encerrona that the president owned several Rolex watches.
The investigation aimed to determine if there were grounds for a formal inquiry into the president.
Boluarte has admitted to owning Rolex watches, which she said she had purchased with money she earned since she was young and urged the media not to pry into personal matters.
But attorney general Juan Villena stated she is obligated to promptly provide three Rolex watches as part of the probe, cautioning her not to hide or destroy them.
He also criticized her request to postpone her appearance before the court for two weeks.
Political turmoil is nothing new in Peru, which has seen six presidents in the last five years.
Earlier this month, Boluarte said she entered the president’s office with her hands clean and would leave with her hands clean.
The 61-year-old lawyer ascended from a modest district official to vice president under President Pedro Castillo in July 2021.
She subsequently assumed the presidency in December 2022 following Castillo’s impeachment after he attempted to dissolve congress and rule by decree.
At least 49 people were killed in the protests that followed.
Critics accuse Boluarte’s government of becoming increasingly authoritarian as it resists calls for early elections and collaborates with members of congress on laws that threaten to undermine the independence of Peru’s judicial system.
.
