Peru: Alejandro Toledo made it to Barbadillo, the jail that only houses former presidents

After being extradited from the United States, former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo Manrique was held in a prison in Lima known as the presidential prison, as it has housed several former presidents inside the facility throughout the years.

The Barbadillo prison is not like any other prison because, although it is part of Peru's National Penitentiary Institute (INPE), it is located within the facilities of the Directorate of Special Operations (DIROES) and operates independently. According to the INPE website, the presidential prison in the district of Ate, located in the east of the Peruvian capital, is being used exclusively by court order and not for police custody.

Toledo to share prison with two other former presidents

Currently, the Barbadillo prison only houses three inmates, all of whom are former presidents. The oldest is former president Alberto Fujimori, who is 84 years old and is serving a 25-year sentence for human rights abuse. Fujimori was checked into said prison in 2007, and although he left the facility for a few months between 2017 and 2018 due to a pardon he received, this benefit was annulled soon after and he was sent back to prison.

Pedro Castillo has also been held in this facility since December of last year due to the failed self-coup d'état he carried out during that month, when Congress was voting for his removal from office after allegedly being involved in corruption schemes.

Toledo is the last of the former presidents admitted to Barbadillo for the corruption scheme related to the Odebrecht case.

Although former president Ollanta Humala is no longer in this prison, he was also in custody between 2017 and 2018 for receiving alleged payments from Odebrecht.

Prison details

The Barbadillo prison was built in 2007 exclusively to house Fujimori. The prison does not have the regular infrastructure of a prison, as space is made available as needed. However, it has similar cells in a space of approximately 800 square meters that are guarded by 20 INPE police officers. The inmates have completely independent areas and do not come into contact with each other.

The prison has a permanent doctor, ambulance 24 hours a day and, like all prisons, it has a medical area that is very close to Fujimori's space due to the former president's advanced age.

This former president's room is approximately 15 square meters with melamine flooring. It also has its own kitchen and bathroom and has an additional space of 20 square meters that usually serves as a dining room and guest room. However, one of the biggest benefits is that he has access to a garden where he grows roses.

According to La República, Castillo's room is similar to Fujimori's room. It has a bed, a table and access to the garden. Congressman Pasión Dávila stated that he has no major privileges.

At the moment it is not known where Alejandro Toledo will be within the facility or what his space will be like since it is the first time that three presidents will be imprisoned in this center. Javier Llaque, head of INPE, assured that the prison has adequate conditions and the capacity to accommodate him.