The ruling of the Constitutional Court that, on October 20, ordered the Cócteles case to be archived, has generated controversy in the legal world and concern in the Judiciary. Compliance with the sentence has been left in the hands of a judge of the National Criminal Court who, although he is the head, is barely He has been on the bench for a year.
listen to the newsText converted to audio
Artificial intelligence
It’s about the lawyer Wilson Omar Verástegui Gálvezappointed titular criminal judge, in September 2024, by the previous member of the National Board of Justice. “Knowledge is power“Verástegui stated in the personal interview that defined his appointment, before the counselor Maria Zavala Valladareson September 27, 2024.
WE RECOMMEND YOU
‘TRVKO’ CASE: ARRIOLA CHANGES VERSION, ACCOMMODATIONS AND REACCOMMODATIONS | WITHOUT SCRIPT WITH ROSA MARÍA PALACIOS
“Facing organized crime is not easy. The judge must have poise and good preparation to face it,” he stressed, in an interview that delved into his personal attributes and experience.
family relationships
In 2016, presidential candidate César Acuño declared that he was a friend of the parents of today’s judge Wilson Verástegui.
Before being appointed judge, Verástegui served for 12 years as deputy provincial prosecutor in the La Libertad tax district. From his time in Trujillo, the weekly Hildebrandt in his 13th recalled that in 2016, the leader of Alliance for Progress, César Acuña He published a photo of himself with Wilson and his brother Ronald Verástegui.
“It was a pleasure to have received the visit of Omar and Ronald Verástegui Gálvez, sons of a great friend of mine from my beloved Tacabamba.“Acuña wrote on his networks, although he later deleted the publication. At that time, today’s judge Wilson Verástegui was deputy provincial prosecutor.
Regarding his performance as a prosecutor, in the aforementioned interview, Verástegui related that in 2017, at the conclusion of a hearing, a lawyer told one of his clients that he and the judge had asked her for 500 soles to appear. Wilson Verástegui assured Zavala that he had requested preventive detention for said process, but that the judge issued an appearance.
The aforementioned defendant recorded the conversation with the lawyer and gave the audio to the judge and the prosecutor. That led to an investigation and a lawsuit. The lawyer recanted, admitted that she lied to her client to get money from him, and apologized to the prosecutor.
public competition
Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez considers that the Judiciary should refuse to comply with the TC sentence
Wilson Verástegui achieved second place in the contest, in which he competed with veteran judges from the National Criminal Court and, among others, with the prosecutor José Domingo Pérez. On October 21, he joined the Judiciary and was appointed in charge of the 10th National Criminal Court.
Almost three months later, on January 13, 2025, the Third National Criminal Court declared the first public trial of the Cócteles case null and void due to a ruling from the TC that determined that José Chlimper Ackerman was the subject of a “surprise accusation” for the crimes of criminal organization, money laundering and obstruction of justice.
The case file returned to the hands of the national criminal judge Víctor Zúñiga Urdaywho returned it to the Public Ministry to formulate a new accusation. Days later, Zúñiga Urday resigned from the National Criminal Court, a retirement that was accepted in May 2025. When prosecutor José Domingo Pérez presented the new accusation, the file was referred – by random draw – to the tenth National Criminal Court, which Verástegui now serves.
In compliance with the law
Since taking on the case, Judge Wilson Verástegui has issued three resolutions favorable to Fujimori and Fuerza Popular. Shortly after receiving the file, Verástegui complied with the ruling of the Constitutional Court of November 28, 2024, in which it is decided to annul the oral trial and the procedural acts in favor of the former presidential candidate and her lawyers for the alleged crime of obstruction of justice.
Then, hours before the prosecutor José Domingo Pérez will present the new accusation, this magistrate ordered to comply with the TC sentence of January 2025 in favor of José Chlimper. In September, in compliance with Law 32130, approved by the Congress of the Republic, lifted the appearance with restrictions imposed three years ago to Keiko Fujimori. At the same time, it has ordered the beginning of the process for the control of the second tax accusation.
Now, after this new decision of the TC, the judge Wilson Verástegui must call a hearing to hear the position of the Public Ministry, the State Attorney’s Office and the representative of the Public Ministry, in order to make a decision already indicated by the TC: archive the case. However, the Special Team and various jurists consider that the Judiciary could apply diffuse control to deviate from what was resolved by the TC. The arguments in favor of judicial resistance are that The TC exceeds its functions by ruling in favor of Keiko Fujimori.
