Vizcarra decides on the arrest of César Villanueva, former president of the Council of Ministers

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(Credit: Guillermo Legaria / Getty Images)

(CNN Spanish) - Peruvian President Martín Vizcarra spoke about the arrest of the former president of the Council of Ministers, César Villanueva, whom he appointed when he assumed the government after the resignation of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

“They ask us to pronounce ourselves on the latest events, but is there anything in doubt? We said it many times, and I repeat it today: the fight against corruption is a fundamental axis for this government, and that struggle is whoever falls, even if it is a high-ranking official of this government, ”said the president.

Vizcarra was presented at the Annual Executives Conference, the most important business event in the country. This conference takes place after several testimonies of Peruvian businessmen to the prosecutors investigating the Lava Jato case in the country and a few days after knowing that Peru's largest financial holding company, Credicorp, delivered more than three million dollars in cash to the campaign of Keiko Fujimori, according to its president. CNN confirmed this information with sources close to the investigation.

César Villanueva was arrested on Tuesday in the framework of the investigations carried out by the Prosecutor's Office for allegedly receiving bribes from the Brazilian company Odebrecht when he was governor of the San Martín region, between 2007 and 2013. The former congressman also denies the accusations in against him

This Wednesday, the former president of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski expressed himself on the subject through his Twitter account. "The twists and turns of life. César Villanueva, a regular promoter of my vacancy, accusing me of acts of corruption without any evidence. However, I forgive. I feel very sad and wish him well, ”he published on the social network.

While he was a parliamentarian, Villanueva was always in favor of the vacancy of former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski who resigned from the presidency in March 2018 accused of having lied to the country about his relationship with the Odebrecht company.

After the resignation of Kuczynski, César Villanueva was appointed president of the Council of Ministers by Martín Vizcarra, who assumed as president. President Vizcarra, along with César Villanueva, led the anti-corruption offensive.

Case of Odebrecht Case of Odebrecht PeruMartín Vizcarra