Six Peruvian ministers resign amid 'Rolexgate' probe against Boluarte

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
2 Apr 2024 10:07

Mass resignations have swarmed the Pervuan cabinet just a few days after a raid was ordered on President Boluarte's home.

Lawmakers sit inside Congress as they wait for the arrival of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, in Lima, Peru, July 28, 2023. (AP)

Six cabinet ministers in Peru have resigned from their positions amid an ongoing investigation regarding the Rolex watches Peruvian President Dina Boluarte has been wearing and how she managed to obtain them.

Interior Minister Victor Torres was the first to step down and was followed by the women's issues, education, rural development, production, and foreign trade ministers.

Their resignations were not clarified but came only two days before the new prime minister, Gustavo Adrianzen, and his government, were set to be sworn in after they won the congressional vote a month ago.

Interior Minister Torres told reporters he was resigning for "personal reasons", saying he "asked the lady [Boluarte] and she accepted". However, the general populace saw his move as a punitive response to the raids he had ordered against Boluarte's home on March 30.

Boluarte then assigned six substitutes to fill in the empty positions following the mass resignations.

Peru police raid Boluarte's home in search of undisclosed luxury items

Boluarte's home was raided by police on Saturday as part of a corruption investigation related to Rolex watches that Boluarte did not publicly declare.

A police document obtained by AFP shows that around 40 officials partook in the raid, which police said was "of search and seizure," but she did not appear to be home at the time.

An investigation, dubbed Rolexgate, was launched this month after news outlet La Encerrona released pictures of her wearing luxury watches at public events in December 2022, when she took office.

When asked how she could afford such expensive items on a public salary, she claimed it was due to her hard work since she was 18 years old.

Peru has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily demonstrations since December 7 last year, when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree and his then-Vice President Boluarte took over.

Since the start of the protests, over 50 people have been killed during clashes with the police. The opposition held Boluarte responsible for these deaths. She is also being investigated for money laundering and suspicious finances for her campaign during the 2021 elections that brought Castillo to power, but she denies the accusations.