Peru President, Ex-President Under Investigation for Alleged Money Laundering

Peru prosecutors are investigating President Dina Boluarte and former President Pedro Castillo for alleged money laundering as part of a criminal group, the attorney general's office announced on Twitter on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, Boluarte and Castillo are being investigated for alleged crimes related to campaign funding during Peru's 2021 presidential election.

The investigation comes after a former Castillo advisor revealed to local media that he had contributed money to Castillo's presidential campaign and financed some trips of Boluarte when she was running to become Castillo's vice president.

The attorney general's office noted that the crimes in question "would have happened during the election campaign of Peru Libre," a Marxist party that helped propel Castillo to the presidency of the Andean nation.

However, Boluarte said on the weekend that the allegations of corruption and illegal campaign contributions were a "political maneuver" meant to bring down her administration.

Boluarte is also currently being investigated for her alleged involvement in the deaths of demonstrators who died in clashes with security personnel in the months following her inauguration.

Peru Political Crisis

Pedro Castillo was impeached and ousted from office in December after he attempted to dissolve Congress, and Dina Boluarte became Peru's president following his removal and arrest, Al Jazeera reported.

Since then, Peru has been experiencing political turmoil, and protesters are demanding fresh elections and Boluarte's resignation as president.

Since the protests started in December, the Ombudsman estimated that 49 civilians and seven members of the security services had been killed.

Until her term as president concludes in 2026, Boluarte cannot be tried for any crime, even if she is guilty of one. Boluarte is Peru's sixth president since 2018 and the country's first female leader.

Mexico President Maintains Pedro Castillo as Peru's Legal President Despite 'Coup'

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared on Wednesday that Pedro Castillo is still "the legal and legitimate president" of Peru and that his imprisonment was part of a "coup," the Associated Press reported.

According to Lopez Obrador, the current administration of Peru is "racist" and has imprisoned Castillo because of his indigenous background.

It was the clearest sign that Lopez Obrador does not acknowledge Peru's current president.

"I maintain that he (Castillo) is the legal and legitimate president," López Obrador said in his morning press briefing.

"He suffered a coup... They won't accept Pedro Castillo because he is from the mountains. He is indigenous," the president added.

The Lopez Obrador administration has made no public statements about ending its support of the Dina Boluarte administration.

However, the Mexican president's stance has deteriorated relations between the two nations. In reaction to Lopez Obrador's statements, Boluarte withdrew her country's ambassador in February.

Mexico's official stand is that it neither "recognizes" nor "does not recognize" the governments of other countries. However, it has not explained how that policy squares with the Mexican president's statements.

Although Lopez Obrador has spoken out on the deaths of protesters in Peru, he has been criticized for not saying much about the hundreds of Nicaraguans killed or exiled by the government of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega.

This Ortega'sis owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Peru Attorney General Launches Investigation Into President Dina Boluarte - From BBC News