International
The clock scandal leaves the exit door of Boluarte open
A new political crisis is experiencing Peru, after the raid on the home of President Dina Boluarte and the Government Palace by a police and prosecutor’s team looking for the luxury watches not declared by the president.
The image of this team breaking the lock marked the day in which the president said she was the victim of an arbitrary and abusive procedure. These are the keys:
Boluarte was summoned by the Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week to show the famous watches and testify, respectively, but the president did not attend any of these calls.
Local media reported that the Boluarte defense had asked to reschedule the appointments because of the president’s busy agenda.
Even so, the interim Attorney General, Juan Carlos Villena, affirmed that the president was acting in absentia and Supreme Prosecutor Hernán Mendoza said in the Congressional Oversight Commission that he was thwarting the investigation.
On March 18, the Public Ministry opened a preliminary procedure against Boluarte for the alleged commission of the crime of illicit enrichment by not having declared luxury watches before the National Election Jury (JNE).
Shortly before midnight on Friday, a team of about 20 prosecutors and as many police officers arrived at the house in Boluarte, in the Lima district of Surquillo, where, when they did not receive a response when they knocked on the door, they broke the lock and entered the house.
Five hours later they left with briefcases to their next destination, the Government Palace, where they were for several hours raiding the office and the residential area of the complex.
The court order signed by Supreme Judge Juan Carlos Checkley authorized the raid, with unveiling if necessary, of the residence of Boluarte, “who is attributed to be the alleged perpetrator of the crimes of illicit enrichment and failure to record statements in documents.”
Shortly after the registration at the Government Palace was concluded, the Prime Minister, Gustavo Adrianzén, went out together with several members of the cabinet and the president’s lawyer to describe this measure as disproportionate, illegal and unconstitutional.
“What they are doing is politicizing and evidencing that justice has been politicized in an unprecedented event that is attacking the democratic institutionality and the Presidency and, above all, evidencing the crocking of the democratic system and constitutionality,” said the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Eduardo Arana.
Lawyer Mateo Castañeda said that the raid was unnecessary and unjustified, that it is not proportionate to the purpose of this diligence and “that so many fiscal and police personnel cannot be mobilized to search for watches.”
During the day, the official accounts on social network X of several ministries such as the Interior or Agrarian Development, as well as all the ministers, supported Boluarte and rejected the fiscal and police intervention.
While the country waited for Boluarte’s words, the raid divided the Peruvian political parties between those who saw an opportunity to resurrect a new election and criticize the president, and those who criticized the raid and defended it.
Among the first was the Marxist party to which the president herself belonged, Perú Libre, who presented to Congress a motion of vacancy (destitution) against her that so far has the signature of 26 parliamentarians of the 130 that make up the chamber.
But most conservative political formations such as Fuerza Popular, Renovación Popular or Somos Perú, who defined the raid as “mere spectacle” or “abuse of power,” showed their support for Boluarte.
With great expectation, the president made a statement with her entire cabinet in which she defined what happened at her home and Government Palace as “arbitrary, abusive and disproportionate and affirmed that there has never been either refusal or rebellion on her part in the face of the tax investigation.
He did not refer to what the citizenry expected: the origin of the clocks. According to he said, his lawyer has recommended that he only deal with this issue in public at the Prosecutor’s Office, where he will clarify the facts “as soon as possible.”
In addition, he blamed the media for organizing a campaign of harassment against him and spreading false and biased news against him for months and reiterated that he will leave the Government in 2026 with clean hands.
During the day it was made public that the Judiciary admitted to processing a habeas corpus presented by the president’s defense so that the procedure of raiding her home is declared null and void.
According to his lawyer, Boluarte will testify in the Public Ministry on Friday, April 5, and in the meantime journalistic programs have announced that they will reveal details of what the prosecutor’s team found at home and that Peruvians want to know.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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