The National Prosecutor's Office obtained 37 incriminating testimonies against Pedro Castillo

In the 376 pages of the constitutional complaint filed by the National Prosecutor, Patricia Benavides, against the president peter castle, The statements of 6 effective collaborators, 2 protected witnesses and 29 witnesses whose statements were required have been recorded by the Public Ministry.

With the recent arrests of 5 of those investigated the last Tuesday, October 11 -Salatiel Marrufo Alcántara, Abel Cabrera Fernández, Aubner Vásquez Cabrera, Biberto Castillo León and Eder Vitón Burga-, the Prosecutors’ Task Force Against Corruption estimates that the number of effective collaborators will increase.

Sources related to the investigations explained to La República that having 6 effective collaborators in the preliminary stage, “is an appreciable number”, because they are people who have admitted the crimes charged to them, “therefore they have direct knowledge of the facts.”

In the case against Keiko Fujimori and her accomplices, the Special Team has presented in the intermediate stage, a total of 12 effective collaborators. “We have 6 effective collaborators and the complaint has just been filed,” argued the sources consulted.

The statements of the 6 effective collaborators and 2 protected witnesses has allowed the Special Team of Prosecutors against Corruption to identify other people to summon them in order to corroborate the testimonies. The constitutional accusation records the statements of 29 witnesses.

The verification process

The corroborations were related to 3 substantial cases in which, according to witnesses, the head of state allegedly received illegal illicit compensation:

a) The addressing of the tender for the Tarata III Bridge, in which it was verified that President Castillo authorized his friend, Minister Juan Silva, to coordinate with Zamir Villaverde, the assembly so that the construction company and operator Termirex is the winner, of the Pasapera Adrianzén brothers. In this investigation, an effective collaborator confirmed that Zamir Villaverde gave 100 thousand soles to Juan Silva. This in turn organized the officials to set up the tender, for the benefit of the Termirex company consortium, whose owners are brothers of Luis Pasapera Adrianzén, who had been recruited by Zamir Villaverde. The operators identified the businessman Hugo Meneses Cornejo, as one of the operators of the corruption scheme. Meneses confirmed his intervention.

b) The appointment of Hugo Chávez Arévalo, through President Castillo’s friend, Fermín Silva Cayatopa, as general manager of Petro Peru. Chavez took office to set up a tender for the benefit of Samir Abudayeh Giha, according to the statements. For this operation, witnesses have stated that Castillo received 2 million soles.

c) President Castillo coordinated with Nenil Medina and Abel Cabrera the appointment of their friend, Geiner Alvarado, as Minister of Housing, and another member of the group, Salatiel Marrufo, as head of the advisory cabinet, to exercise control over the bids. It is proven that 20 public works were selected by friends of the head of state, who acted as financiers of his presidential campaign. President Castillo signed the emergency decree 102-2021, together with Geiner Alvarado, which allowed the distribution of the projects that his friends wanted. The former ministers Mirtha Vásquez and Pedro Francke that the selection of the projects was made in Housing.

“In all the cases pointed out by the effective collaborators, all the witnesses were summoned, and these, to a large extent, confirmed the facts. Meetings at the Government Palace, meetings at the house on Passage Sarratea, coordination with the president’s nephews, etc. ”, the sources indicated.

“An example: an effective collaborator mentioned a clandestine meeting of members of the so-called political bureau with officials from the Ministry of Housing. The witnesses cited confirmed the facts and identified the attendees. And these in turn, during the interrogations, confirmed their presence. Of that group (Nenil Medina Guerrero, Abel Cabrera Fernández and Salatiel Marrufo Alcántara), they are already detained, only one is a fugitive (Segundo Sánchez Sánchez)”, the sources detailed.

Pedro Castillo and his financiers. Photo: LR Composition

In the case of Petroperú, Fermín Silva Cayatopa himself confirmed the meeting at the Government Palace with President Pedro Castillo, Hugo Chávez Arévalo and his nephew Yober Sánchez Delgado, as the effective collaborator had stated. The reason for the meeting was to appoint Hugo Chávez as general manager of Petroperu, what actually happened. Silva also accepted that he gave 45 thousand soles to Bruno Pacheco and that part of that sum was given to Pedro Castillo, supposedly in compensation for the appointment of Chávez.

From saying to doing

Another effective contributor indicated that the purpose of the appointment of Hugo Chávez was to control the hiring of Petroperú, as Geiner Alvarado did in the Ministry of Housing Y John Silva at the Ministry of Transport. Chávez proposed to break with the purchases of B100 biodiesel from foreign companies and do it directly to Samir Abudayeh’s HPO.

To ensure direct hiring, Hugo Chávez appointed loyal officials, who, in effect, awarded the purchase of B100 biodiesel to HPO for US$ 47 million.

“Gregorio Sáenz Moya, who had been a worker for Samir Abudayeh, acknowledged that he met with President Castillo and Abudayeh at the Government Palace. After this appointment, Hugo Chávez hired Gregorio Sáenz for Petroperú and later bought biodiesel from Abudayeh. When the Petroperú officials who participated in the contracting of HPO were summoned, they all said that they were interviewed and recruited by Hugo Chávez. Here we have another case of a successful verification process of the declarations of an effective collaborator”, the sources argued.

Businessman Hugo Espino Lucana initially testified as a witness, but has now become a protected witness. One of the reasons for the change is that the authorities of the Special Team of Prosecutors against Corruption of Power have known how to value his testimony.

Starting because he recognized that his first visit to the Government Palace was at the request of the first lady Lilia Paredes Navarro and her sister Yenifer Paredes Navarro, who were interested in public works in Chota, Cajamarca, and Chachapoyas, Amazonas. Espino was summoned to forge studies of drinking water and sanitation projects, with the aim that the committed mayors -César Castillo, from Chadín; and Víctor Culqui, from Chachapoyas- will award the works to the companies involved.

As part of the agreement, David Paredes Navarro gave Hugo Espino 70 thousand soles and Walter Paredes Navarro gave him another 20 thousand soles. When questioned, David and Walter stated that it was a “loan”. Actually, it was the advance of a vulgar bribe.

Who are the witnesses of the prosecutor of the Nation

Among the relevant testimonies of the witnesses cited by the prosecutor of the Nation are the members of the political bureau, Segundo Sánchez Sánchez, Abel Cabrera Fernández, Salatiel Marrufo Alcántara and Nenil Medina Guerrero.

On the case of Pedro Castillo and Juan Silva, Zamir Villaverde, Karelim López, Alcides Villafuerte Vizcarra, Hugo Meneses Cornejo, Edgar Valdivia Malpartida, George Pasapera Adrianzén, Miguel Espinoza Torres and Fabiola Caballero Sifuentes.

Regarding the investigation of Petroperú, Hugo Chávez Arévalo, Samir Abudayeh Giha, Pedro Francke, Iván Merino Aguirre, Gunther Documet Celis, Gregorio Sáenz Moya, Arturo Muñoz Rodríguez, Roger Liy Lion.

Regarding emergency decree 102-2021, Geiner Alvarado López, Jacqueline Castañeda del Castillo, Elizabeth Añaños Vega, Durich Whittembury Talledo, Mirtha Vásquez Chuquilín and Mariano Gonzales Fernández, among others.