Legal and judicial developments in South America

Legal proceedings and judicial disputes have emerged across several South American nations. In Argentina, investigations are focusing on the 2018 IMF loan secured during the Mauricio Macri administration, with prosecutors appealing to keep the case open to determine the responsibilities of officials including Luis Caputo and Federico Sturzenegger. Separately, in Salta, former Intendant Carlos Alfredo Martínez has been placed in preventive detention amid an investigation into an illicit association allegedly involved in money laundering from drug trafficking and smuggling.

In Colombia, the president of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), Alejandro Ramelli, has opposed a proposal to cut the institution’s 2027 budget by 100 billion COP, warning that such a reduction would jeopardize the transitional tribunal and could involve the International Criminal Court. In Peru, the Second Criminal Appeals Court of La Libertad modified the sentence of Maricsa Polet Alfaro Cerna from effective imprisonment to two years of suspended imprisonment following a fatal DUI accident, citing her lack of a criminal record and cooperation with authorities.