The Minister of the Interior of Peru, Walter Ortiz Acosta, resigned this Thursday, barely a month and a half after being sworn in, amid questions about interference to ongoing investigations on the appointed president, Dignified Boluarte, and his brother Nicanor Boluarte.
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Ortiz Acosta presented his resignation letter on Thursday. According to local media, he would be replaced by Vice Minister of Internal Order, Juan José Santivañez, who would be sworn in on the afternoon of this day.
Last Tuesday, the official publicly endorsed the decision to remove police support for the Special Team of Prosecutors Against Corruption in Power (Eficcop). He took responsibility for the measure against that team, which investigates Nicanor Boluarte for leading an alleged criminal organization and influence peddling against the State.
The brother and lawyer of the designated president, Mateo Castañeda, were arrested during raids carried out on May 10. Some 20 others were also arrested in the context of a court case called "The Waykis in the Shadow".
The text reads,
PERU: Retired National Police General Walter Ortiz Acosta presented his letter of resignation to the post of Minister of the Interior.
The resignation comes after he defended the deactivation of the police support group to the Special Team of Prosecutors against Corruption in Power (Eficcop). His replacement will be General Gustavo Hananel.
The next day, the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office announced that it was opening proceedings against the de facto president and Ortiz Acosta for having withdrawn police support for the anti-corruption group. He accused them of alleged perpetrators of the crimes of personal cover-up and abuse of authority.
After hearing the decision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Ortiz Acosta reacted and criticized the interim prosecutor, Juan Carlos Villena, who demanded that police support be restored to the Eficcop.
Retired general of the Peruvian National Police, Ortiz Acosta is the fifth minister of this portfolio during Boluarte’s term. He took over the portfolio on 1 April.