The Peruvian Judiciary renewed the arrest warrant against Vladimir Cerrón, leader of the communist Free Peru party and current presidential candidate, as part of an investigation into alleged crimes of criminal organization and money laundering.
The measure seeks to guarantee his arrest, after the previous provision expired without being able to locate his whereabouts.
Cerrónhas been at large since October 2023, when he was sentenced to three years and six months in effective prison for the so-called “Wanka Airport” case, linked to irregularities in the award of a public work during his tenure as regional governor of Junín.
The Public Prosecutor's Office of Peru After
that ruling, the leader did not appear before the authorities, which led to the issuance of a national arrest warrant that was later extended to
international scope.
Subsequently, the Public Ministry moved forward with new investigations against him, related to alleged illegal funding networks and links to corruption structures.
In this context, a measure of preventive detention for 24 months was also issued, which reinforced his status as required by the Peruvian justice system.
The recent renewal of the arrest warrant was ordered by the corresponding judicial body to prevent the measure from being rescinded due to formal reasons.
Vladimir Cerrón's message in X from hiding
According to judicial sources, there is also active coordination with international organizations to facilitate their location and possible detention outside the country, if they have left Peruvian territory
.
Despite his legal situation, Cerrón continues to be a central figure in Peru Libre, a left-wing political space that maintains his presidential candidacy in the current electoral process.
From their environment, they have maintained that this is a judicial persecution and have presented various legal remedies to reverse the decisions against them, including actions before the Constitutional Court.
So far, authorities have not confirmed precise data about their location. The Peruvian National Police maintains the arrest warrant in force and has repeated search operations in different regions of the country
.
The Cerrón case joins a series of judicial processes involving left-wing political leaders in Peru, in a context where the relationship between politics and the judicial system continues to be marked by investigations into corruption and irregular funding.
