the Lima prison converted into the presidents’ prison with gardens and 800m2 rooms

The aforementioned prison currently houses four of the presidents who have governed Peru. These are Alejandro Toledo, Ollanta Humala, Martín Vizcarra and Pedro Castillo. But these leaders have not been the only ones who have gone through the Lima prison.

The former president Alberto Fujimori was the leader who inaugurated the penitentiary center. He remained there for almost 15 years, serving a sentence since 2009, for the crimes of aggravated homicide, serious injuries, and kidnapping aggravated by cruel treatment.

The ‘guests’

All the leaders who remain in Barbadillo have been recently convicted. The first president who entered the prison of the four mentioned above and who is still there is Pedro Castillo.

He was arrested on December 7, 2022. That same day, he tried to dissolve Congress to avoid a third impeachment process, but the chamber removed him. That act was described as an icoup attempt and was arrested by the Police.

This was followed Alejandro Toledo. The president governed the country for five years, from 2001 to 2006. He entered Barbadillo in April 2023. He was sentenced in October 2024 to 20 years and six months in prison for accepting bribes from the Brazilian construction company Odebrecht in exchange for the awarding of public works.

Later, on September 13, 2025, he was convicted again. He was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison for a crime of money laundering. His internment in Barbadillo occurred in 2023 after being extradited from the United States.

The third, Ollanta Humala. He was also sentenced for his links to the company Odebrecht. He was found guilty of money laundering by receiving “illegal contributions” for his 2006 and 2011 electoral campaigns. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He entered the prison on April 15, 2025

According to the information published, these contributions came from the company Odebrecht and the Venezuelan government in times of Hugo Chavez.

A few months later, it was Martín Vizcarra’s turn. For his part, the president committed the alleged irregularities when he was governor of the region of Moqueguabetween 2011 and 2014. He accepted bribes from construction entities in exchange for the awarding of public works. He governed the country for two years, from 2018 to 2020.

The projects for which that money was destined were the lifting of the Moquegua Hospital and the agricultural expansion of the aforementioned region. According to the conviction, the illicit payments reached 2.3 million soles, almost 600,000 euros. On November 26, 2025, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, in addition to nine years of disqualification, for bribery and business corruption.

Barbadillo, from within

The Barbadillo penitentiary center, located in the Ate Vitarte district, is located inside the facilities of the Directorate of Special Operations of the Peruvian Police. It has a courtroom and it is the headquarters of the country’s anti-terrorist police unit.

The prison is administered by the National Penitentiary Institute (INP), in charge of maintaining more than 60 prisons spread throughout the territory of Peru. The former head of the INP Javier Llaque Moya held the CNN that in Barbadillo “there are no cells or bars, but four rooms, each with its bed, bathroom and a small dining room and reception for visitors.”

The rooms are closed with metal doors and padlocks from 9:00 p.m. However, before that, Inmates can wander through the two gardens that the prison has, which function as common areas and can interact with each other. Officially, it has a capacity for two inmates, but it could be expanded to up to two more inmates. The cells reach 800 square meters.

According to Llaque’s statements, Humalathe president sent to prison for his connection with the company Odebrecht, It is located in the same room occupied by former president Fujimori.. On the other hand, Vizcarra was admitted to a recently built room.

The last few years in the Andean country have been turbulent, with a series of “political crises.” The Peruvian political scene has been marked by dismissals, corruption scandals and attempts to coups d’état.

All these ups and downs have led to up to seven presidents, an average of one a yearhave been sent to the Barbadillo prison. Although these are probably not the only ones guests that they pass through the so-called “presidential” penitentiary center. To the former president In Boluarte Numerous judicial matters threaten him.

Boluarte, in the spotlight

In Boluartethe first woman to lead Peru, was dismissed on October 10 by Congress due to her “moral incapacity” to exercise the position. Several political groups of all kinds asked for his dismissal through four motions of censure. He assumed office on December 7, 2022.

However, Boluarte did not appear and lawmakers had enough votes to proceed with an expedited impeachment process.

During Boluarte’s term, he faced multiple judicial investigations for corruption crimes who have surrounded his government. She left the baton as the most unpopular president in Latin America with an approval rating that barely reached the 3%according to several surveys.

The departure of the Peruvian president, six months before general elections are held, was framed in a context of a serious crisis of insecurity and violence that the country is going through, as well as the lack of effective measures to confront the racketeering.

The erosion of her image and her mandate was such that parties that supported her until now, such as Popular Force and Popular Renewalvoted in favor of his dismissal.