International

The clock scandal leaves the exit door of Boluarte open

A new political crisis is experiencing Peru, after the raid on the home of President Dina Boluarte and the Government Palace by a police and prosecutor’s team looking for the luxury watches not declared by the president.

The image of this team breaking the lock marked the day in which the president said she was the victim of an arbitrary and abusive procedure. These are the keys:

Boluarte was summoned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week to show the famous watches and testify, respectively, but the president did not attend any of these calls.

Local media reported that the Boluarte defense had asked to reschedule the appointments because of the president’s busy agenda.

Even so, the interim Attorney General, Juan Carlos Villena, affirmed that the president was acting in absentia and Supreme Prosecutor Hernán Mendoza said in the Congressional Oversight Commission that he was thwarting the investigation.

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On March 18, the Public Ministry opened a preliminary procedure against Boluarte for the alleged commission of the crime of illicit enrichment by not having declared luxury watches before the National Election Jury (JNE).

Shortly before midnight on Friday, a team of about 20 prosecutors and as many police officers arrived at the house in Boluarte, in the Lima district of Surquillo, where, when they did not receive a response when they knocked on the door, they broke the lock and entered the house.

Five hours later they left with briefcases to their next destination, the Government Palace, where they were for several hours raiding the office and the residential area of the complex.

The court order signed by Supreme Judge Juan Carlos Checkley authorized the raid, with unveiling if necessary, of the residence of Boluarte, “who is attributed to be the alleged perpetrator of the crimes of illicit enrichment and failure to record statements in documents.”

Shortly after the registration at the Government Palace was concluded, the Prime Minister, Gustavo Adrianzén, went out together with several members of the cabinet and the president’s lawyer to describe this measure as disproportionate, illegal and unconstitutional.

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“What they are doing is politicizing and evidencing that justice has been politicized in an unprecedented event that is attacking the democratic institutionality and the Presidency and, above all, evidencing the crocking of the democratic system and constitutionality,” said the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Eduardo Arana.

Lawyer Mateo Castañeda said that the raid was unnecessary and unjustified, that it is not proportionate to the purpose of this diligence and “that so many fiscal and police personnel cannot be mobilized to search for watches.”

During the day, the official accounts on social network X of several ministries such as the Interior or Agrarian Development, as well as all the ministers, supported Boluarte and rejected the fiscal and police intervention.

While the country waited for Boluarte’s words, the raid divided the Peruvian political parties between those who saw an opportunity to resurrect a new election and criticize the president, and those who criticized the raid and defended it.

Among the first was the Marxist party to which the president herself belonged, Perú Libre, who presented to Congress a motion of vacancy (destitution) against her that so far has the signature of 26 parliamentarians of the 130 that make up the chamber.

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But most conservative political formations such as Fuerza Popular, Renovación Popular or Somos Perú, who defined the raid as “mere spectacle” or “abuse of power,” showed their support for Boluarte.

With great expectation, the president made a statement with her entire cabinet in which she defined what happened at her home and Government Palace as “arbitrary, abusive and disproportionate and affirmed that there has never been either refusal or rebellion on her part in the face of the tax investigation.

He did not refer to what the citizenry expected: the origin of the clocks. According to he said, his lawyer has recommended that he only deal with this issue in public at the Prosecutor’s Office, where he will clarify the facts “as soon as possible.”

In addition, he blamed the media for organizing a campaign of harassment against him and spreading false and biased news against him for months and reiterated that he will leave the Government in 2026 with clean hands.

During the day it was made public that the Judiciary admitted to processing a habeas corpus presented by the president’s defense so that the procedure of raiding her home is declared null and void.

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According to his lawyer, Boluarte will testify in the Public Ministry on Friday, April 5, and in the meantime journalistic programs have announced that they will reveal details of what the prosecutor’s team found at home and that Peruvians want to know.

International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.