Peru: President Dina Boluarte slams anti-corruption raids, refuses to resign

Dina Boluarte, the president of Peru, declared on Saturday that she will not step down following a raid on her home as part of investigations into probable illegal enrichment and her failure to disclose her ownership of expensive watches.

On Friday night, some twenty representatives of the public prosecutor’s office and twenty police officers invaded Boluarte’s home; on Saturday morning, they raided the palace.

“I took office with clean hands and thus I will retire from the presidency in 2026,” she said at a press conference, calling the raids a “disproportionate” measure and “abusive.”

Boluarte’s house is located in the Lima district of Surquillo, a few kilometres from the palace where she works.

“Personnel from the palace provided all the facilities for the diligence requested,” the presidency said on social media platform X, adding that it was carried out “normally and without any incident.”

However, Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen also criticized the raids.

“The political noise that is being made is serious, affecting investments and the entire country,” he wrote on X. “What has happened in the last few hours is disproportionate and unconstitutional actions.”

Two weeks ago, prosecutors began preliminary inquiries following a media report by internet program La-Encerrona that the president possessed several Rolex watches.

The inquiry intended to establish whether there were grounds for a formal investigation of the president.

Boluarte, in office since December 2022, has acknowledged that she owns Rolex watches, which she said she had bought with money she earned since she was young.

The prosecutor’s office had tried unsuccessfully last Wednesday to conduct a check of the watches at Boluarte’s office, but her lawyers said there was a clash of diary appointments and sought to reschedule the appointment.

Boluarte’s investigation is the most recent in a lengthy line of investigations targeting Peruvian presidents and high-ranking officials.

(With agency inputs)