Peru

Peru: Top Court Pauses Investigations into President Boluarte

AUG 20 2025·Updated APR 9

Story

Above: Dina Boluarte delivers a speech at the Government Palace in Lima on Aug. 13, 2025. Image credit: Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Peru's Constitutional Court said in a decision released on Tuesday that all criminal investigations into President Dina Boluarte are now "void for lack of jurisdiction" and will resume only after July 28, 2026, when her presidential term is set to end.
Al Jazeera
Andina
Reuters
This comes as the court sided with the executive branch in a complaint filed against the prosecutor's office and the judicial branch, noting that prosecutorial and judicial proceedings against Boluarte were "affecting the effective exercise of state authority."
Andina
El Comercio Perú
Reuters
The ruling stresses that, under Article 117 of the Peruvian Constitution, sitting presidents can only be investigated for limited reasons, including treason, preventing elections, dissolving Congress in most instances or preventing the meeting or functioning of the Congress and electoral bodies.
Bloomberg.com
El Comercio Perú
Boluarte has been facing investigations for her alleged role in the death of over 60 protesters after coming to power in late 2022, for alleged illicit enrichment related to luxury watches and jewelry, and for alleged unauthorized absence from office after a medical procedure on her nose. She denies all accusations.
Al Jazeera
Reuters
The suspended actions include three preliminary proceedings against Boluarte from the public prosecutor's office for alleged crimes such as genocide, qualified homicide, illegal enrichment, abuse of authority and personal concealment, and a judicial resolution granting search-and-seizure warrants.
Andina
Boluarte is the sixth sitting president in seven years, taking over after the impeachment of Pedro Castillo in December 2022. Castillo and three other former Peruvian presidents are currently behind bars, and virtually all of Peru's presidents have faced criminal investigations this century.
Al Jazeera
Bloomberg.com

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The Spin

Government-critical narrative

This is a regrettable decision that mocks criminal investigation efficiency and favors pro-corruption impunity because time erases crucial evidence. As Dina Boluarte controls the police apparatus and has power over the crime scene, fair prosecution is nearly impossible when investigations resume in 2026.

La República

Pro-government narrative

The Constitutional Court made the right call, protecting presidential authority and governance stability. This ruling doesn't create impunity, but rather reasserts a historical constitutional interpretation that prevents political investigations from undermining executive power during a president's term.