The United States Attorney's Office on Friday requested the Northern District Court of California that former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006) return to jail
"On September 28, 2021, the Court certified Peru's request for the extradition of Alejandro Toledo Manrique. (…) Toledo is currently on bail pursuant to an Order issued by the Court on March 19, 2020," a motion submitted by
Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds read.
The document said the Court "shall issue a warrant for the commitment of the person so charged to the proper jail, there to remain until such surrender shall be made."
Likewise, it affirmed that "given the Court's decision on certification, Toledo is no longer eligible for bail because the extradition statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3184, expressly requires detention of fugitives following such a decision."
Moroeover, "even if bail were available, Toledo presents a significant risk of flight, and no special circumstances justify his release."
"The Court should revoke its March 19, 2020, order and remand Toledo to the custody of the United States Marshal pending the
Secretary of State's decision on Toledo's surrender to Peru and, if warranted, his transfer to the custody of Peruvian authorities," the document said.
It also indicated that "this case is now in a fundamentally different posture than it was over a year-and-a-half ago when Toledo was released from custody. Not only has the Court certified Toledo for extradition and rejected his arguments in defense thereof, but the circumstances supporting his release have also changed. Accordingly, Toledo should no longer be afforded release on bail."
In July 2019, the Court ordered that Toledo be detained. During the first months of the extradition proceedings he was incarcerated at Santa Rita Jail and Maguire Correctional Facility, considering that there was a risk of flight.
However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was released on March 20, 2020, to serve house arrest wearing an electronic shackle.
In remarks to EFE news agency, Toledo said he would submit a "habeas corpus" following Tuesday's decision. If accepted by U.S. Justice, the "habeas corpus" could temporarily suspend the extradition process, although it is not automatic. The Court would rather have to explicitly order it.
According to the Peruvian Prosecutor's Office, 75-year-old Toledo would have received up to US$35 million from the construction company Odebrecht in exchange for favoring the Brazilian company in its business in Peru, when he was still President of the Republic.