Peru’s revolving door of presidents has taken another dramatic turn with the detention of former President Martín Vizcarra, marking yet another chapter in the nation’s long-running political instability and corruption scandals. An investigative court ordered five months of pretrial detention for the 62-year-old, who is accused of accepting substantial bribes during his tenure as governor of the Moquegua region over a decade ago.

The judiciary recently announced that Vizcarra had been transferred to prison after prosecutors successfully appealed an earlier decision that allowed him to remain free while awaiting trial. Vizcarra, who served as Peru’s president from March 2018 until his impeachment in November 2020, now joins the growing list of former Peruvian leaders who have ended up behind bars.

According to Peru’s state news agency Andina, the allegations date back to between 2011 and 2014, when Vizcarra served as governor of Moquegua, a sparsely populated but strategically important southern region. Prosecutors accuse him of accepting bribes totaling the equivalent of $640,000 from construction firms in exchange for awarding lucrative hospital construction contracts.

The case is part of a broader corruption investigation into public works projects across Peru, where large infrastructure contracts have long been........

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