The former president of Peru Ollanta Humala will be investigated for crimes against humanity committed in 1992, as confirmed this Tuesday (11) by the Peruvian Public Ministry, according to agencies EFE e Associated Press.
The investigation also involves four former soldiers for alleged extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances at the Madre Mía military base, during the period in which Humala commanded the 313 Countersubversive Battalion, at the height of the fight against the communist terrorist group Sendero Luminoso.
According to the EFEthe First Supraprovincial Prosecutor’s Office for Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism pointed out that Humala, known at the time by the code name “Captain Carlos”, had led patrols responsible for the murders of Edgardo Isla and Nemer Acuña, in addition to the disappearance of four other people in the Huánuco region. Prosecutor Marita Barreto, responsible for the case, stated that the case was reopened after the emergence of new evidence and will have a period of eight months to collect statements and take steps.
According to EFEthe investigation includes, in addition to Humala, former soldiers identified as Tobías Huaringa (“Huaringa”), Nicanor Guerra (“Rambo”), Amílcar Gómez (“Chicho”) and Russel Vela (“Livio”). Judge Jorge Chávez Tamariz ordered that those being investigated be registered in the national registry of those prosecuted for forced disappearance and appear periodically before the Court.
The former president is currently in prison, serving a 15-year sentence for money laundering related to receiving illicit funds from the construction company Odebrecht and the Venezuelan regime to finance his presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Humala’s wife, Nadine Heredia, convicted in the same case, has currently been living in asylum in Brazil since April this year, with diplomatic protection granted by the Lula government “for humanitarian reasons”.
On Monday (10), Federal Supreme Court (STF) minister Dias Toffoli annulled the use of evidence provided by Odebrecht in the lawsuits filed by Peru against Heredia. The decision prevents any form of judicial cooperation between Brazil and Peru in this case.
The annulment partially responded to a request made last week by Heredia’s defense, which also requested the suspension of any possible sentence served and a possible extradition process – points that were not accepted by Toffoli.
