Lima-Peru’s former president Pedro Castillo was placed in provisional detention on Thursday, a day after he was ousted by lawmakers and arrested, accused of attempting a coup.
Prosecutors carried out a dawn raid on the presidency and some ministerial offices in search of evidence against Castillo, who is being investigated for “rebellion and conspiracy.” Looking visibly nervous and disheveled, the toppled leftist appeared before the Supreme Court via videoconference as prosecutors sought a week’s detention.
A judge granted the request, despite the argument of Castillo’s lawyer Victor Perez that “the crime of rebellion was not committed” because it did not materialize. Castillo’s efforts to dissolve Congress and rule by decree were quickly stamped out by lawmakers who voted him out of office on Wednesday in a day of high drama, by the end of which he was in jail and his former vice president Dina Boluarte had taken over. Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador revealed that Castillo had requested asylum, which he was willing to grant.