Donald Trump made history again by becoming, this time, the first former president of the United States to be charged with criminal charges in the country’s history. However, in Latin America, bringing a former head of state to justice is not something new; not even extraordinary.
Brazil, where the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was charged and was imprisoned until his sentence was annulled; Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia and, above all, Peru have a long history of prosecuting former rulers.
Trump is facing accusations related to the handling of campaign funds and undeclared payments to allegedly try to buy the silence of a porn actress with whom he apparently had an extramarital affair, all this shortly before the end of the presidential campaign that gave victory in 2016.
The exact charges, on which a New York grand jury voted in an unprecedented event in the US, will be released this Tuesday, months after the former president announced that he would seek re-election in 2024.
In Latin America, most scandals involving presidents have to do with corruption, fraudulent administration, and abuse of power. In the voice of america We list some of the most notorious cases.
Brazil
The current Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, who took office for the third time on January 1, was accused in two different proceedings of accepting bribes from engineering companies in exchange for government contracts.
Lula was accused of receiving payments from the contractor OAS in the form of reserving and renovating an apartment in São Paulo, for which he was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison for passive corruption and money laundering by then-judge Sergio Moro.
The sentence was modified two more times, to eight years and 10 months, of which Lula served 580 days, after the decision was annulled by the Supreme Court in 2019.
The second process, for which he was sentenced to more than 17 years, included bribery from the construction companies OAS and Odebrecht through remodeling of a house in São Paulo, in 2010. This was also annulled by the Supreme Court, which determined that Moro acted partially.
The veteran politician and former union leader always defended his innocence, saying that the charges were politically motivated.
Argentina
The current Argentine vice president -and former president -between 2007 and 2015-, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, was accused of fraud in a controversial process that, according to the professional lawyer, seeks to remove her from the political arena through the lawfare or legal war.
Last December, an Argentine criminal court sentenced the influential politician to six years in prison and decreed the perpetual disqualification of Fernández from holding public office for the crime of fraudulent administration to the detriment of the State and favoring private businessmen in the award of public works. .
The vice president was acquitted, however, of the charges that accused her of being the leader of an illegal association.
This is the first time in the history of the South American nation that an acting vice president is tried and convicted by justice. In the case of Fernández de Kirchner, his entry into prison depends on the ratification of instances such as the Supreme Court, a process that can take years. The policy maintains immunity until he concludes his term next December.
Mexico
In 2005, the Supreme Court of Mexico voted to try former President Luis Echeverría Álvarez for the massacre of students on Corpus Thursday, in June 1971, on a charge of genocide that had not prescribed.
Echeverría Álvarez, who was also accused of excessive use of force and forced disappearance, became the first former Mexican president to be tried for crimes of human rights violations.
The ex-president was also pointed out as one of the likely perpetrators – or at least implicated – in the Tlatelolco Massacre, in 1968, when he served as Secretary of the Interior of then President Gustavo Díaz Ordaz.
The charges against Echeverría Álvarez were dropped in 2009 for “lack of evidence” and in consideration of his advanced age at the time.
The current president Andrés Manuel López Obrador took the decision to prosecute five former presidents for different crimes in 2021: Carlos Salinas (1988-1994), Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000), Vicente Fox (2000-2006), Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) and Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018).
For analysts, many of the probable crimes that could be attributed to the ex-presidents would have prescribed for everyone except Peña Nieto, investigated by the Attorney General’s Office for alleged electoral crimes, money laundering and illicit enrichment.
Colombia
In 2020, the controversial former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) was ordered by the Supreme Court to keep house arrest, the first time in the history of the country in which a former president was deprived of his freedom.
The charges for which Uribe is being investigated are related to alleged fraud and bribery of witnesses in a process in which he was also accused of ties to far-right paramilitary squads.
Months later, in October, Uribe He was released after he resigned from his position as senator and his case was transferred from the Supreme Court to the National Prosecutor’s Office, which asked to dismiss the entire file, something that is still pending.
The ‘Uribe case’ raised a stir inside and outside Colombia. His allies, including the then president, Iván Duque, had requested the defense in freedom, arguing that his house arrest was unfair, comparing his case with that of former leaders of the FARC ex-guerrilla, who remained free during their trials.
Peru
Peru is the country where more former presidents have been brought to justice in Latin America in less time. In the last three decades seven ex-presidents have been accused of corruption.
Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) was accused of crimes against humanity and receiving a large amount of bribes. Currently, at the age of 82, he is serving a 25-year sentence.
Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) fled to the United States when the courts ordered his preventive detention on the occasion of the the ‘Odebrecht case’. At the moment He is accused of influence peddling, collusion and money laundering for allegedly receiving 35 million dollars from the Brazilian construction company for the award of contracts.
The case of Alan García (2006-2011) had a tragic turn when the former president, accused of accepting 24 million dollars from Odebrecht, committed suicide in 2019shortly after the police arrived to arrest him at his home.
The process against Odebrecht also affected Ollanta Humala (2011-2016), who is investigated with his wife, Nadine Heredia, for alleged bribes in the form of donations to his electoral campaign amounting to 3 million dollars.
Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2021), Economy Minister and later Prime Minister of Toledo, would have been implicated in Odebrecht’s bribes at the time. Days before his second vacancy motion, he resigned. Currently, he is being investigated for money laundering and was forced to keep house arrest while the process progresses.
Martín Vizcarra (2018-2020) succeeded Kuczynski in the presidency after his resignation. He dissolved Congress as part of his fight against corruption, to be removed by parliament just two years laterand accused of allegedly receiving payments from construction companies during his tenure as governor of the Moquegua region.
the dream removal and imprisonment of Pedro Castillo (2021-2022) after his attempt to dissolve Congress and establish an “exception government”, has been criticized outside the country and provoked a wave of violence which has already claimed almost 70 deaths. Castillo is related to several cases of corruption, collusion and influence peddling in an ongoing process. Currently, he remains in pretrial detention.
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