The agency said Castillo was held in the same prison where Fujimori was held.

A judicial source told Reuters that Pedro Castillo, who was ousted as Peru’s president on Wednesday, was detained in a police prison in Lima, where another former president, Alberto Fujimori, is also being held.

Castillo was sacked in an impeachment case Wednesday after he tried to illegally dissolve Congress in an attempt to stay in power, which backfired when his former allies and ministers turned their backs on him.

Hours later, he was arrested, and television footage showed him arriving in a helicopter Wednesday night, with his hands under a blanket and under wide security, to the headquarters of the Special Operations Department (Diroes) in the east of the capital.

The source said the 53-year-old leftist Castillo was detained at headquarters where Fujimori, who ruled Peru with an iron fist from 1990 to 2000, is serving a 25-year prison sentence for human rights violations and corruption. for this purpose.

Police and judicial authorities declined to comment on Castillo’s current whereabouts, and Reuters was unable to reach their lawyers right away.

Former vice president Dina Boluarte was sworn in as the country’s first female leader on Wednesday night.

Castillo had sought to avoid a pre-scheduled hearing on Wednesday, the third he’s faced in a year, by announcing the dissolution of parliament, a move that led to the resignation of ministers and alleged coup d’etats.

Peru’s prosecutor said Castillo was arrested on allegations of rioting, acting unconstitutionally and conspiring against the government.

A former teacher and farmer was sworn in in July 2021 after Fujimori won a close election against his conservative eldest daughter, Keiko Fujimori, who remains a key force in parliament.

Fujimori, 84, is the only convict convicted in a compound built for him in Diroes before his extradition from Chile in 2007 and his subsequent trial.

According to the National Institute of Prisons (INPE), Fujimori has a cell with access to a bedroom, bathroom, study area, and a courtyard where he will take care of the garden.

Fujimori successfully dissolved Congress and took over the judiciary in 1992, a move backed by the military and police at a time when the country was battling a Maoist guerrilla insurgency and facing an economic crisis.

After an international protest, Fujimori held legislative elections and wrote a new constitution in 1993 supporting a free market economy.

Unlike Fujimori, Castillo lost the support of his government and military after threatening to dissolve Congress.

The forensic source told Reuters that the two former presidents were not together even though they were in the same prison centre. While Castillo is held in a police cell, the complex where Fujimori resides is managed by INPE.

“Castillo is expected to make his first official statement to prosecutors on Thursday regarding the riot and conspiracy investigations,” a source added, adding that he is the attorney for former prime minister Anibal Torres. said.

Former President Ollanta Humala was also detained at Diroes headquarters as preliminary detention between July 2017 and April 2018, while being investigated for alleged corruption.