Peru’s former President Ollanta Humala has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for receiving illegal campaign funds from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, now known as Novonor. The verdict, delivered on April 15, also sentenced his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years. She later sought asylum at the Brazilian embassy in Lima.
Prosecutors alleged Humala and Heredia accepted illicit funds during the 2011 presidential campaign, channeled through the Peruvian Nationalist Party. Humala, who served from 2011 to 2016, defeated Keiko Fujimori—daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori—in that election. The court ruled that Humala's imprisonment is effective immediately, regardless of a potential appeal. His lawyer, Wilfredo Pedraza, criticized the sentence as “excessive” and plans to appeal after the final ruling on April 29.
Humala is now the second Peruvian ex-president to be imprisoned in connection with the massive Latin American corruption probe known as “Lava Jato.” Odebrecht executives have admitted to financing numerous Peruvian political campaigns for nearly three decades. The scandal has already ensnared several of Peru’s former leaders, including Alejandro Toledo, Pedro Castillo, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, and the late Alan Garcia, who died by suicide in 2019 as authorities moved to arrest him.
Humala is expected to serve his sentence at a police base in Lima designated for high-profile political prisoners. Former presidents Toledo and Castillo are also currently incarcerated there.
This latest conviction highlights the enduring impact of the Odebrecht bribery scheme on Latin American politics and the ongoing efforts by Peruvian authorities to hold former leaders accountable for corruption and money laundering.