Peru Ex-President Alejandro Toledo Extradited From US to Face Corruption Charges

Former President Alejandro Toledo of Peru is now facing corruption charges in the country he once ruled after being deported from the United States, where he was arrested.

Toledo was flown back to Lima on Sunday after a long legal battle to have him extradited to Peru. He was arrested at his home in Menlo Park, California, in 2019.

He was accused of receiving millions of dollars in bribes in a massive corruption scandal that also involved three other former Peruvian presidents. Toledo served as the president of Peru from 2001 until 2006.

A photo of the man who used to be the most powerful individual in the country while being escorted by Peruvian authorities off the plane in handcuffs was reportedly released by police.

The former Peruvian president looked disheveled as police escorted him from the airport to a courthouse in Lima, according to the Associated Press. He denied all the charges against him.

Former Peru President Alejandro Toledo Voluntarily Surrendered Before Getting Extradited

Before he was sent back to Peru, Alejandro Toledo had been living in the United States for several years. On Friday, he surrendered himself at a courthouse in San Jose, California, after a judge dismissed his last appeal.

He insisted he was under "political prosecution" and would not receive a fair trial in his home country. David Bowker, who represents the former Peruvian president in the United States, noted that Toledo was "profoundly saddened and disappointed" by the decision to deny his bid to block the extradition.

According to The Guardian, his lawyer back in Peru, Roberto Su, released a statement on Sunday, saying that his client was in poor health and his "rights had not been respected."

Since 2016, Toledo has lived in the United States as a visiting scholar to study education in Latin America at Stanford University. He was arrested in 2019 before being released during the pandemic. Peru had been trying to get him extradited ever since.

Alejandro Toledo to Be Held in Same Prison as Other Former Peru Presidents

Alejandro Toledo was credited as the president who restored democracy to Peru after the decade-long regime of jailed former president Alberto Fujimori.

However, he will probably be in the same prison as the man he once ousted from office in Lima's Barbadillo prison. Fujimori is serving 25 years for corruption and human rights abuses.

Recently-ousted former President Pedro Castillo is also inside the prison. Much like Toledo and Fujimori, he is also accused of corruption.

However, there is a chance that Toledo may be placed under house arrest instead, as his lawyers have cited that he has health problems, according to Reuters.

Former presidents Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Alan Garcia, and Toledo have all been accused of taking bribes from the Brazilian construction firm, Odebrecht, which won a massive public works contract to build a highway connecting Peru and Brazil.

The company has since admitted to paying $800 million to several government officials in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Ex-President Alejandro Toledo Returns to Peru After US Extradition - From FRANCE 24