The Peruvian Prosecutor's Office orders the arrest of former Minister of Transportation Juan Silva

MADRID, 8 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Peruvian Prosecutor's Office has requested this Tuesday an arrest warrant against the former Peruvian Minister of Transport and Communications, Juan Silva Villegas, accused of alleged crimes of criminal organization and aggravated collusion.

The measure has been issued by Judge Juan Carlos Checkley, who previously prohibited Silva -- who has been a minister in the current Executive of Pedro Castillo -- from leaving the country for 36 months, according to the Peruvian newspaper 'La República'.

Silva was called to give a statement before the Prosecutor's Office on June 4 for the Puente Tarata III case, although he did not appear. His lawyer, however, has assured that they received notification of the aforementioned diligence.

"According to the legal system that we have, article 147 of the Civil Procedure Code, which is applied in a supplementary manner, establishes that, between the summons for the diligence and its completion, at least three business days must elapse," has explained the defense of the former minister, according to the aforementioned newspaper.

However, after the Prosecutor's Office ordered Silva's arrest, the Police have reported that he has lost his location and has not been able to carry out his arrest.

Suspecting that the former minister could have left the country, the national director of Migration, Jorge Fernández, has assured that it is not possible, as reported by 'Diario Correo'.

"The National Superintendence of Migration is in charge of border checkpoints and controls. For none of these offices has Mr. Juan Francisco Silva Villegas left Peru," he maintained.

The president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, is also called to testify as being investigated for the Puente Tarata III case.

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Castillo would be the head of a criminal organization active in the Ministry of Transport and Communications in complicity with Silva, as well as with officials from Provías Nacional and Provías Descentralizado, the Presidential Office and businessmen and third parties, to favor the consortium. Puente Tarata III and other companies in public bidding processes.

For Castillo's lawyers, this case is "a dead investigation, which should never have been opened." His arguments are based on article 117 of the Constitution of Peru, which determines that the President of the Republic can only be accused during his term of office for very specific acts and not for common crimes, and for this reason he considers that the case is unconstitutional.