US Court Approves Extradition of Peru's Ex-President Toledo

On Tuesday, the U.S. Magistrate Judge of the District Court for the Northern District of California, Thomas Hixson, authorized the extradition of ex-President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) to Peru so that he can be tried for corruption crimes.

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“The Court has heard and considered the evidence of criminality and deems it sufficient to sustain the charges of collusion and money laundering under the provisions of the Extradition Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Peru,” Judge Hixson ruled.

Paradoxically, this extradition treaty was signed by both countries on July 26, 2001, just two days before Toledo became president.

Following the approval of the U.S. Court, it will be up to the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to make the final decision on whether to extradite him or not.

In July 2019, Toledo was arrested in California, where he had resided for the past few years. He spent eight months in prison as the judge found him a "flight risk", although he was finally released and moved to house arrest in March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.

According to investigations conducted by the U.S. Public Prosecutor's Office, when Toledo was still in office, he received up to US$35 million from the Odebrecht construction company in exchange for favors.

On Tuesday, his defense lawyers said they would request "habeas corpus" to the U.S. Justice, which could delay or even prevent Toledo's extradition to Peru.