Maduro celebrates impending fall of Peru leader

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (AP FILE PHOTO)

LIMA, Peru — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is celebrating the downfall of his fiercest critic — President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru.

Maduro said on Thursday on state TV that while Kuczynski has sought to bar Venezuela’s leader from next month’s Summit of the Americas, it is the former Wall Street investor who will conspicuously absent from the regional gathering in Peru.

“(T)he stench of corruption exploded in his face,” Maduro said apparently taking aim at Peru’s embattled leader.

Kuczynski has been leading like-minded conservative leaders in Latin America in trying to isolate Venezuela’s government for human rights abuses. It was unclear, however, if Kuczynski’s successor would re-invite Maduro to the summit, as talks even float the conference, which is scheduled to start in three weeks, would likely be called off.

Meanwhile, Peruvian lawmakers are expected to vote on Friday whether to accept Kuczynski’s offer to resign or instead hold a vote on impeaching him amid corruption allegations.

Legislators are expected to be in for a heated debate regarding the issue on Thursday. Some factions are already vowing to reject Kuczynski’s resignation and proceed with a scheduled impeachment vote instead.

Such a move would not be unprecedented, as Congress rejected former Peruvian strongman Alberto Fujimori’s resignation in 2000, following a turbulent decade in power marred by grave human rights violations. Legislators then proceeded to impeach him instead.

In this handout photo provided by the Peruvian Presidential Press Office, President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski poses with his cabinet before addressing the nation and announcing his resignation from office on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The embattled Peruvian leader offered his resignation to Congress ahead of a scheduled vote on whether to impeach the former Wall Street investor, according to a presidential aide. (Juanca Guzman Negrini/Presidencia de Peru via AP)

But if the opposition-controlled Congress does vote to accept Kuczynski’s resignation, lawmakers would then swear in his replacement, Vice President Martin Vizcarra.

On the other hand, court officials said a judge would consider a request to bar Kuczynski from leaving the country if Congress accepts his resignation.

Either way – whether Congress accepts his resignation or impeach him, Kuczynski would lose his presidential immunity, making him more vulnerable to prosecution.

Opposition lawmakers have accused Kuczynski of failing to disclose $782,000 in payments from the giant Brazilian construction company Odebrecht to his private consulting firm over a decade ago when he was serving as a government minister.

Kuczynski has denied any wrongdoing.

The latest upheaval in Peru marks one of the worst political crises in that country’s recent history, and is another fallout from the region-wide Odebrecht corruption scandal.   /kga