President José Balcázar avoided announcing whether or not he will grant a possible pardon in favor of Pedro Castillo, but he left that possibility open by pointing out that he still has “several days” left at the head of the Government before the change of command on July 28, when his elected successor, Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza Popular), assumes the head of the State.
“I don’t have anything (requests now) but I have several days of course to wait whether or not they present (the pardon request). And if not, it will be with the new president that the issue of the former president will be addressed,” he indicated in dialogue with El Comercio.
Although he avoided responding directly to this newspaper’s query about a possible use of that presidential power, the matter had already been raised by him during the meeting he held on July 1 at the Government Palace with the main promoters of that initiative: the former presidential candidate Roberto Sánchez (Together for Peru) and relatives of the former president: his brother, José Mercedes Castillo Terrones, and Yenifer Paredes, Pedro Castillo’s sister-in-law.
Former minister Iber Maraví and congressman Jaime Quito, next senators of the new bicameral Congress, also participated.
When asked about that meeting, Balcázar assured: “I did not point out a specific pardon, but rather I told them what is meant by a pardon. I told them that this requires a constitutional pardon for a person being convicted (…) But in this case (of Castillo) it has not been given until now. We have not had any specific request for days.”
The head of state pointed out that the attendees recognized that, until that moment, they had not submitted an application that met the corresponding requirements.
Six days before that meeting, the pastor and military chaplain of the Armed Forces, Germán Villena Cóndor, presented to the Presidency of the Republic the seventh request for pardon in favor of Castillo. In this regard, Balcázar responded that this request was declared inadmissible.
“I remember that the Commission of (Presidential Thanks of the Ministry of) Justice declared it inadmissible. Yes, there is no specific request until now,” he added.
Of the total of seven applications submitted to date, none have resulted in the granting of a presidential benefit for the former president, who is serving a sentence of 11 years and five months in prison after being found responsible for the crime of conspiracy to rebel for the coup d’état of December 7, 2022.
As Minister Luis Jiménez (Justice) explained weeks ago, four requests submitted before May 2026 did not meet the minimum formal requirements, so they were not opened or evaluated. Subsequently, three others were presented between May and June, including the one formulated by Germán Villena.
In summary, to date, seven requests have not been successful before the Government.
—Does not rule out evaluating new orders—
President Balcázar indicated that he will evaluate a possible request for humanitarian pardon if it meets the legal requirements and is duly supported. However, he considered that, for the moment, Pedro Castillo is not in a condition that justifies the granting of a humanitarian benefit.
“If they ask me for a humanitarian pardon and they present it properly and it is at the extreme of what the right indicates to give them humanity, we will have to evaluate it. But so far I do not believe that they are in a similar situation of such a nature that they are in need of that type of humanitarian pardon. In short, we will see it in due course because that requirement is essential because a humanitarian pardon means that a person is extremely serious,” he stated.
At all times, the head of state stated that “there is still time.” He insisted that if “someone on his behalf requires presenting a type of pardon” he has to be precise and concrete with his claim.
Meanwhile, Balcázar said that an eventual meeting between Keiko Fujimori and Together for Peru would allow the situation of former President Pedro Castillo to be analyzed, but he clarified that this does not imply an upcoming decision on a possible presidential benefit.
“I think that this country, what people need is to think about harmony and permanent dialogue and if they consider receiving Together for Peru and talking, it would be good. Peru does not need disagreements, but dialogues. It seems very good to me that the president (seek) to dialogue with Together for Peru to see the case of Castillo and others, without that meaning that she has to resolve the issue tomorrow or the day after,” he added.
Are there possibilities for an eventual pardon for Castillo? The experts speak
Experts consulted by this newspaper agreed that Pedro Castillo could not access a pardon at this time, because his conviction does not yet have a final sentence.
Criminal lawyer Vladimir Padilla considered that, for the moment, a presidential pardon in favor of Castillo is not appropriate, because he does not have a final sentence for the crime of conspiracy to rebel in the 2022 coup d’état.
The constitutionalist Natale Amprimo said the same. The expert explained that the presidential benefits provided for in the Constitution only apply in certain cases, such as a delay in the prosecution of a person or a decision by the head of State regarding a person with a final sentence.
“The Presidential Graces are those established by the Constitution. One is for the delay due to processing, which is not the case for him, and the second is when the president pardons him as a Presidential Grace but the sentence must be final. And if he had an issue of illness, he should be in another suitable space. The case of Toledo, for example, is different. There is a law that establishes the mechanism of carrying out the sanction at home,” he indicated.
