US approves extradition of former President Toledo to Peru

MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. State Department on Tuesday approved the extradition of former President Alejando Toledo to Peru and ordered him to surrender, paving the way for him to face corruption charges in his country related to the Brazilian construction company. odebrecht.

“The government is now requesting the preventive detention of Toledo to execute its delivery to the Peruvian authorities,” prosecutors said in a written document. “There are no other legal obstacles to the rapid delivery of Toledo,” they added of the former president under house arrest.

The decision was communicated by US prosecutors in a document filed with a California appeals court, before which Toledo asked to remain in the United States. By his decision, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, ratified the decision of a trial judge who, in September 2021, had declared the former Peruvian president extraditable to his country.

The former president is accused of accepting some $35 million in bribes related to the construction of a highway between Brazil and Peru. Peruvian prosecutors have prosecuted him for conspiracy and money laundering and his country has sought to extradite him since 2018. Toledo was detained in the United States following this request in 2019.

The legal process in the United States was long.

The extradition was certified by California federal judge Thomas Hixon, but to delay it, Toledo filed a habeas corpus petition in another court. Another magistrate later denied that request, along with a request by the former president to stay in the country while he appealed.

There’s a hearing on March 6, set before the State Department’s decision, and it’s unclear whether Toledo would surrender before then. It’s unclear if Toledo will surrender or be detained, or when he might be sent home.

In the three-page document in the court case’s online filing, prosecutors said the government would file a motion with the court to revoke Toledo’s house arrest and order him to remain in jail for the purpose. to be handed over to the Peruvian authorities. .

Toledo’s defense has expressed its intention to renew its request to remain in the United States, but prosecutors have said they will continue to oppose it since the secretary of state has already approved the extradition.

Toledo lives in California and has argued that the US-Peru extradition treaty cannot be applied to his case because the South American nation has not formally charged him or provided documents with the specific charges, as required by the treaty. He assures that there is no reason to believe that he committed the alleged crimes.