Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Alan García, Peru's former president. Photo: Luis Robayo/AFP/Getty Images
Former Peruvian President Alan García killed himself on Wednesday, reportedly as authorities closed in to arrest him for links to the corruption scandal involving Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht, known as Operation Car Wash, or Lava Jato.
By the numbers: Peru's last 5 former presidents have all been charged with crimes. Three have been sent to jail, 1 is currently on house arrest and the other is an international fugitive.
The big picture: The last president not sought by authorities for graft was Fernando Belaúnde Terry, who left office in 1985 and died in 2002.
- Peru's most recent ex-president, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, was removed from office and eventually sentenced to 10 days in jail over charges a consulting firm he co-owned accepted nearly $1 million in payments from Odebrecht.
- Former President Ollanta Humala is currently under house arrest facing allegations he took $3 million in bribes, largely from Odebrecht, during his term from 2011 to 2016.
- García served 2 terms as president, most recently prior to Humala, and shot himself in the head as authorities arrived to take him to jail.
- Alejandro Toledo has reportedly fled to the United States to avoid trial on corruption charges for taking bribes from Odebrecht.
- Alberto Fujimori, who oversaw a 10-year dictatorship in Peru from 1990 to 2000, was sentenced in 2009 to 25 years in prison for crimes against humanity, including killing more than 2 dozen people by military death squad.
- Fujimori was freed by Kuczynski in a controversial deal with Fujimori's daughter Keiko, who at the time was leader of the congressional opposition party. But last year he was sent back to prison. Keiko was arrested for taking bribes from Odebrecht in October and sentenced to 36 months pretrial detention.
The state of play: Despite the political chaos, Peru's stock market delivered world-beating returns from the start of 2016 to the end of 2017. An ETF tracking MSCI's Peruvian index (EPU) gained 114% during that time, far outpacing the S&P 500's 43% rise and almost doubling MSCI's broader gauge of emerging market equities, which rose 66%, according to data from Yahoo Finance.
- It has since underperformed both indexes.
Go deeper: After Peru's president, regional anti-corruption wave finds next targets