Government agents raid Peruvian President Boluarte's residence in luxury watch investigation
BY FRANKLIN BRICEÑO AND ELÉONORE HUGHES
Updated 4:10 PM CDT, March 30, 2024
LIMA (AP) — Peruvian president Dina Boluarte said in a televised address on Saturday that she rejected the “unconstitutional and discriminatory” way an investigation into possible illicit enrichment is being carried out, after police broke down the front door of her house with a battering ram overnight in search of luxury watches.
Police had waited in vain for several minutes for someone to open the door late Friday, as dozens of armed officers carrying ballistic shields and batons looked on. Boluarte said the authorities did not allow enough time for her family members to rouse themselves, dress and answer the door, especially given the late hour.
After their raid around midnight, officers went to the presidential palace where, this time, they were admitted without resorting to force.
The country is accustomed to seeing searches in the homes of former presidents, but this marked the first time in Peru’s history that police forcibly entered the home of a sitting president. Raids on the presidential palace had happened before.
The investigation began in mid-March after a TV program spotlighted Boluarte wearing a Rolex watch that is worth up to $14,000 in Peru. Later, other programs detected at least two more Rolexes.
Boluarte, a 61-year-old lawyer, was a modest district official before entering then-President Pedro Castillo’s government on a monthly salary of $8,136 in July 2021. Boluarte later assumed the presidency with a lower salary of $4,200 per month. Shortly thereafter, she began to display the luxury watches.
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