Former Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra Sentenced to 14 Years for Corruption
Former President Martín Vizcarra, who faces corruption charges, speaks to supporters outside a courthouse where he is standing trial, in Lima, Peru, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
A criminal court in Lima sentenced former President Martin Vizcarra on Nov. 26 to 14 years in prison after finding he accepted illicit payments during his tenure as governor of the southern region of Moquegua. The court also imposed a nine-year ban on holding public office and ordered immediate imprisonment. Vizcarra has denied wrongdoing and announced he will appeal the ruling.
Prosecutors alleged that Vizcarra received more than $600,000 in bribes from construction companies in exchange for awarding contracts for two major public works projects, an irrigation system and the construction of a regional hospital. The payments were made between 2011 and 2014, when Vizcarra served as Moquegua’s regional governor before rising to the national stage. On social media, Vizcarra shared “This is not justice, it is revenge” and “But they will not break me”. He also claimed the sentence was retaliation for “standing up” to the right-wing political blocs that dominate Congress, where allies of former President Alberto Fujimori continue to wield significant influence. Vizcarra frequently clashed with these groups during his presidency between 2018 and 2020, a period that culminated in his decision to dissolve Congress amid a prolonged institutional standoff.
In the days leading up to the verdict, Vizcarra publicly denied rumors that he was seeking asylum or planning to flee the country. Speaking to local media on Nov. 25, he said he would remain in Peru and appear for sentencing, adding that he was “prepared to face whatever comes,” including immediate imprisonment if ordered by the court.
Vizcarra took office as president in 2018 after the resignation of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who stepped down amid investigations into his ties to the Odebrecht bribery scandal. Kuczynski resigned in 2018 amid an escalating congressional inquiry into his financial ties to the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. The company admitted to paying bribes across the region as part of the wider Lava Jato corruption scheme, and documents revealed that firms linked to Kuczynski had received payments from Odebrecht while he served as a cabinet minister. Legislators accused him of providing misleading testimony about those connections and opened impeachment proceedings for alleged influence-peddling. Facing insufficient votes to survive a second impeachment attempt, Kuczynski stepped down, clearing the way for Vizcarra, then vice president, to assume the presidency.
Vizcarra’s own presidency lasted less than three years. He was impeached in 2020 by “moral incapacity” and removed from office as investigators pursued corruption claims tied to his time in Moquegua. The verdict follows a year-long trial that began in October 2024. Prosecutors argued that executives from construction firms testified as collaborating witnesses, stating that payments were exchanged for guaranteed access to public contracts.
Former President Martin Vizcarra, who faces corruption charges, smiles as he arrives for a sentence hearing in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Despite the conviction, Vizcarra remains an influential figure within the Peru First party, where he has served as a key adviser. His older brother, Mario Vizcarra, is preparing to run in the April 2026 presidential election. A campaign that Vizcarra has described as a continuation of his political project. In a series of posts on social media, Vizcarra said he had been sentenced for “facing the mafioso pact” and argued that voters will have their turn at the ballot box next year. “They’ve removed me from office. They’ve barred me from holding public office. They’ve expelled me from my party. And now they’re throwing me in jail,” he wrote. “Are they so afraid of Vizcarra?”