Motion of censure introduced against Peru congress president over duty breach allegations in prostitution ring case News
Cachapita27, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Motion of censure introduced against Peru congress president over duty breach allegations in prostitution ring case

A motion of censure was presented against the Peruvian congress’s president Eduardo Salhuana on Monday after the Political group Bancada Honor y Democracia accused him of failing to act over alleged prostitution rings in parliament by leaving Peru during the case.

In a press conference, Jose Cueto, congressman from Bancada Honor y Democracia, stated that the Prosecutor’s office cannot modify laws. He also said Salhuana’s decision to leave was a political error that would “further damage the image of the Congress”. This is stated in the reasons for the motion of censure to the president of the parliament that declares Salhuana:

has not taken the timely measures to address the moral crisis and restore trust in the institution; this situation has been aggravated by the recent trip of the President of the Congress of the Republic to the People’s Republic of China, at the invitation of the National People’s Congress of that country, leaving the national parliament in one of its worst crises and uncertainty regarding the facts under investigation by both the Public Ministry and the Oversight and Control Commission of this Branch of the State.

The Prosecutor’s Office opened a preliminary investigation against Jorge Torres, head of the Parliament’s Legal and Constitutional Office, who allegedly had conflicts with his former top aide Andrea Vidal. The congress points to the prosecutor’s office’s recent document citing Vidal to declare her murder as proof of inefficiency. Jorge Montoya, spokesperson for the political group, told Peru21 that after the censure motion, the Permanent Commission must convene an extraordinary session to decide whether to call a plenary session, rather than wait until March. The authorities can summon Salhuana to testify despite his trip to China.

In December, the Lima Bar Association called for an investigation into the murder of Andrea Vidal. Amid this case, Salhuana has been in China, sharing updates only through X, which seriously discredits the Peruvian Congress.

After the murder, a former employee anonymously revealed that Torres set up a prostitution ring in parliament. Torres allegedly recruited women as office workers in exchange for favors to lawmakers. Torres fired Vidal in September due to supposed conflicts. Salhuana traveled to China last Sunday to strengthen international relations after APEC. Critics accuse him of lacking transparency for not sharing reports or multimedia about his meetings until recently. The only mention of the investigation was on Saturday when he mostly referred the matter to the Prosecutor’s Office.

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