Peru’s former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, have been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of money laundering. The long-anticipated verdict was delivered by a court in Lima following a trial that spanned over three years.
Humala, a former army officer turned politician, was accused of accepting illegal campaign funds from the Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht during his 2006 and 2011 presidential bids. The court found that the illicit contributions were funneled to finance the campaigns, breaching Peru’s political finance laws.
Heredia, who co-founded the Nationalist Party alongside Humala and played a central role in his political operations, was also convicted of money laundering. Though prosecutors had sought a 26-and-a-half-year sentence for her and 20 years for Humala, the court imposed 15-year prison terms on both.
Notably, Heredia has been granted asylum by Brazil and, according to Peru’s foreign ministry, will receive safe passage to travel there with her son.
The couple had consistently denied any wrongdoing. Humala was present in court during the sentencing while Heredia followed the proceedings via video link.
Humala first rose to national attention in 2000 after leading a brief military rebellion against then-President Alberto Fujimori. He entered the political arena in 2006, initially aligning himself with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, a connection that drew significant criticism. His 2011 campaign, however, took a more moderate tone, inspired by Brazil’s then-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leading to his eventual victory over Keiko Fujimori.
Despite a promising start, his presidency (2011-2016) was marked by social unrest and political tensions. Legal troubles began shortly after his term ended, when Odebrecht admitted to widespread corruption across Latin America, including millions in bribes to political figures.
In 2017, Humala and Heredia were placed in pre-trial detention for a year before being released pending trial. Their conviction marks a significant chapter in Peru’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, which has ensnared multiple high-ranking officials, and underscores the deep political fallout from the Odebrecht scandal across Latin America.
