Peru jails ex-President Humala for 15 years over Odebrecht graft

 A Peruvian court sentenced former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison on Tuesday for money laundering tied to the Odebrecht bribery scandal, which rocked Latin America’s political elite, per AP News.

 The couple was convicted of accepting $3 million in illegal campaign funds from the Brazilian construction giant for Humala’s 2011 presidential run, plus $200,000 from Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez for his 2006 bid, court records showed.

Humala, 62, who governed from 2011 to 2016, was detained immediately, while Heredia, absent from the hearing, sought asylum in Brazil, per Reuters. Judge Nayko Coronado rejected their denials, citing bank trails and witness accounts. 

The ruling, Peru’s third against ex-presidents in the scandal—following Alejandro Toledo’s 20-year term and Alan Garcia’s 2019 suicide—exposes Odebrecht’s $29 million in bribes to Peruvian officials from 2005-2014, per DOJ data. Humala’s appeal is set for June, but 70% of Peruvians support the verdict, per Ipsos polls, amid demands for accountability.