Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

4 hours ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

5 hours ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

5 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

21 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

21 hours ago

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

23 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

1 day ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

1 day ago
Ex-Peru President Arrested in California Drunkenness Case
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
March 19, 2019

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, wanted in his home country in connection with Latin America’s biggest graft scandal, was arrested in California on suspicion of public intoxication and spent the night in jail before he was released Monday morning, authorities said.

“After reaching out to Peruvian officials and Interpol, we learned that the existence of charges in Peru alone does not authorize the subject’s arrest in the United States.” — San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rosemerry Blankswade

Toledo, 72, was arrested Sunday night at a restaurant near Menlo Park, said San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Rosemerry Blankswade.

Toledo, who was Peru’s president from 2001 to 2006 and has lived in California in recent years, was released without charges Monday morning, which Blankswade said is routine for most public drunkenness arrests.

The former president is wanted in Peru where authorities have offered a $30,000 reward for his capture. Peruvian prosecutors accuse him with of taking $20 million in bribes from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht while he served as president. He has denied wrongdoing.

Peru is seeking Toledo’s extradition from the U.S. In February 2017, then-President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski asked President Donald Trump to deport the ex-Peruvian president.

Blankswade said the international police organization Interpol had issued a “warning” to law enforcement agencies around the world to notify it if and when Toledo was arrested. But Interpol officials told officials in the sheriff’s office they had no immediate plans to extradite Toledo and he was released, she said.

“After reaching out to Peruvian officials and Interpol, we learned that the existence of charges in Peru alone does not authorize the subject’s arrest in the United States,” Blankswade said.

The Scandal Has Hit a Particularly Rough Note in Peru

She did not disclose details about what led to officers being sent to the restaurant where Toledo was arrested, and did not name the restaurant.

Interpol officials did not immediately return phone messages left with the organization’s U.S. office in Washington D.C. seeking comment.

In a statement, Peru’s foreign ministry said Toledo’s detention “has no relation with the extradition process underway, which is being handled with the utmost zeal and in coordination with various institutions.”

In a statement, Peru’s foreign ministry said Toledo’s detention “has no relation with the extradition process underway, which is being handled with the utmost zeal and in coordination with various institutions.”

Odebrecht in 2016 admitted in a plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to paying some $800 million in bribes to politicians throughout Latin America including $29 million.

The scandal has hit a particularly rough note in Peru, where nearly every living president is suspected or under investigation for ties to Odebrecht.

Former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned last year after opposition lawmakers revealed that his private consulting firm had previously undisclosed ties to the construction giant.

Prosecutors are also investigating ex-President Alan Garcia after revelations that bribes were made during the construction of Lima’s subway under his tenure. Former President Ollanta Humala was also briefly jailed in connection with the case.

All of Peru’s former presidents have denied wrongdoing. Toledo was a visiting scholar at Stanford University in 2017.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Buying a Home With Solar? Beware of CA Bill Written by Former Utility Co. Exec

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Sues Los Angeles Over Immigration Enforcement

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids Leave Crops Unharvested, California Farms at Risk

UP NEXT

CA’s Population Shrank in Trump’s First Immigration Crackdown. It Could Happen Again

UP NEXT

Controversial Climate Rule That Could Raise Gas Prices About to Take Effect

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

California’s Newsom Sues Fox News for $787 Million for Defamation Over Trump Call

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

US Senate Strikes AI Regulation Ban From Trump Megabill

1 hour ago

Fresno Police, CHP Crack Down on Impaired Driving for July 4th

2 hours ago

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

2 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Amaury Fernandez

3 hours ago

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

4 hours ago

Visalia Police Investigate Deadly Shooting Near Bethlehem Center

4 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

4 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

4 hours ago

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

4 hours ago

Sex Abuse Scandal Forces Fresno’s Catholic Diocese to Declare Bankruptcy

The Catholic Diocese of Fresno filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, according to a news release from the religious organization. The fil...

34 minutes ago

34 minutes ago

Sex Abuse Scandal Forces Fresno’s Catholic Diocese to Declare Bankruptcy

1 hour ago

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

Fresno police arrested a suspect on suspicion of DUI Tuesday, July 1, 2025, morning after they showed up intoxicated to work, caused a disturbance, and struck another vehicle before arriving. (GV Wire/Anthony W. Haddad)
1 hour ago

Fresno Police Arrest Intoxicated Employee Following Morning Disturbance

The U.S Capitol and an office are reflected in a window inside the Hart Senate Office Building as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
1 hour ago

US Senate Strikes AI Regulation Ban From Trump Megabill

2 hours ago

Fresno Police, CHP Crack Down on Impaired Driving for July 4th

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference after the Senate passes U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
2 hours ago

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters on primary night, in New York, June 24, 2025. Mamdani, the democratic socialist whose blend of populist ideas and personal magnetism catapulted his upstart candidacy, has won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, according to The Associated Press. (Shuran Huang/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

Amaury Fernandez is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 1, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
3 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Amaury Fernandez

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend