Pedro Castillo biography: the former president and his trial

Pedro Castillo Terrones is the former president of Peru who, with his troubled and controversial term, became one of the most searched political figures on Google in recent years. A rural teacher, union leader and left-wing politician, his rise to power and his fall were equally resounding. In November 2025 he was sentenced to more than eleven years in prison for the attempted coup d'état of December 2022, and in 2026 he is still waging a legal battle for his freedom. In this biography we go over everything you need to know about him and his current situation.

Pedro Castillo's personal details

Childhood and early years in Cajamarca

Pedro Castillo Terrones was born on October 19, 1969 in the hamlet of Puña, in the district of Tacabamba, province of Chota, region of Cajamarca. He grew up in a humble peasant family, in the heart of the northern Peruvian Andes, where from childhood he helped with work in the fields. His childhood was marked by rural poverty and by closeness to the rondas campesinas, the communal self-defence and self-administered justice organizations that are traditional in that area.

Thanks to his parents' efforts, he was able to study and became a primary school teacher, graduating from the Instituto Pedagógico Superior Público de Chota. For years he taught in rural schools in Cajamarca, experiencing first-hand the shortcomings of the Peruvian education system, an experience that would shape his later political discourse.

His career: from teaching to politics

Castillo became involved in the leadership of the teachers' union SUTEP and became known nationally by leading the 2017 teachers' strike, which paralysed thousands of schools across the country for months and put the government of the day on the ropes. That prominence propelled him into party politics.

In the presidential elections of 2021 he ran for the radical left-wing party Perú Libre, with the slogan “No more poor people in a rich country”. To everyone's surprise, he reached the run-off and managed to prevail by a very narrow margin (just over 44,000 votes) over Keiko Fujimori, and was proclaimed president on July 19, 2021. His victory was read as the cry of protest of rural, forgotten Peru against the Lima elite.

A turbulent term

His term, which began on July 28, 2021, was marked by extreme instability from day one. Castillo governed with a cabinet that rotated constantly: he came to have more than 80 ministers in barely 17 months, a record in Peru's republican history. He also survived three presidential impeachment motions, while criminal investigations piled up against him and against his family circle for alleged corruption (the so-called “Anguía case”, linked to his wife Lilia Paredes and his brothers-in-law).

His administration was marked by accusations of allegedly irregular promotions in the Armed Forces and the Police, secret meetings at the Government Palace and a climate of administrative chaos that eroded his public support. When his third impeachment became imminent, Castillo made the decision that would seal his fate.

The self-coup of December 7, 2022

The most dramatic chapter of his story happened on December 7, 2022. Faced with the imminent impeachment vote in Congress, Castillo addressed the Nation on television and announced the dissolution of Parliament, the takeover of the Judiciary and the establishment of an “emergency government”. The reaction was immediate and overwhelming: Congress, the Constitutional Court and the Armed Forces rejected the measure as a coup d'état.

Castillo was removed from office for moral incapacity and, as he was trying to reach the Mexican embassy to request asylum, he was arrested by the National Police. Since that day he has remained held at Barbadillo Prison, the DINOES headquarters in the district of Ate, in pre-trial detention while the proceedings against him for the offences of rebellion, conspiracy and abuse of authority went ahead. After his removal, the presidency was assumed by his vice-president, Dina Boluarte, who governed the country until her own removal in October 2025. Boluarte's circle, including her brother Nicanor Boluarte, was also prosecuted in the following years.

The sentence of November 2025

On November 27, 2025 a historic judicial milestone took place: the Peruvian judiciary sentenced Pedro Castillo to 11 years, 5 months and 15 days in prison for the offence of conspiracy to rebellion against the State, as a result of the attempted coup d'état of December 2022. The same ruling also covered his former ministers Betssy Chávez and Willy Huerta, who received an identical sentence, while the former cabinet chief Aníbal Torres received a sentence of 6 years and 8 months.

The sentence was celebrated by the sectors demanding justice for the constitutional breakdown and questioned by Castillo's followers, who consider it political persecution. The former president immediately announced his intention to appeal the ruling.

The legal battle for his freedom in 2026

Throughout 2026, Castillo's defence has mounted an intense legal offensive. In April 2026, the Constitutional Court rejected a habeas corpus petition seeking to annul the former president's pre-trial detention. That same month, the former anti-corruption prosecutor José Domingo Pérez took over his legal defence, causing a political earthquake, and publicly described Castillo as “a political prisoner who is being held hostage”, statements that were criticized by various sectors.

In July 2026, the Peruvian courts admitted for consideration a release request filed by his defence, news that shook national politics and that the international press (such as the Spanish newspaper El País) featured on its front pages. However, in August 2026 a court rejected a United Nations report that suggested his release, keeping him in prison. Added to these episodes is the rumour of an alleged humanitarian pardon that the Ministry of Justice categorically denied at the beginning of June 2026.

Personal life: his wife Lilia Paredes

His wife, Lilia Paredes Uribe, managed to flee abroad with their children and in December 2022 obtained political asylum in Mexico, where she currently lives. Paredes is under investigation in Peru over the so-called “Anguía case” for alleged offences of criminal organization and money laundering. As of January 2026, the judiciary extended the preparatory investigation against her for another 18 months, although her extradition appears ruled out as long as she keeps her status as an asylee.

Pedro Castillo trivia

• He was the first president in Peru's history to be removed from office and arrested on the same day, after attempting a coup d'état.
• During the 2017 teachers' strike he led the largest teachers' march in decades, sleeping in tents in the middle of downtown Lima.
• He used to arrive at the Government Palace wearing a straw hat, a poncho and llanque sandals, an unprecedented sight in republican history.
• His wife Lilia Paredes and his brothers-in-law were prosecuted over the “Los Anguía” case, linked to alleged corruption networks in his government.
• The sentence of 11 years, 5 months and 15 days against him was the harshest applied to a former president in Peru's recent judicial history.
• His lawyer since April 2026, José Domingo Pérez, is the same prosecutor who accused Keiko Fujimori in the Cócteles case.

Conclusion

The story of Pedro Castillo is that of a rural teacher who reached the presidency of Peru only to then bring about the country's biggest constitutional breakdown in decades. Convicted of rebellion and conspiracy, his judicial future is being decided between appeals, habeas corpus petitions and an intense political debate about whether he is an ordinary prisoner, a political one or the symbol of a crisis that is still open. The only certainty is that, in 2026, the name of Pedro Castillo still divides Peru like few others.

Sources consulted

• Infobae: expresidente peruano Pedro Castillo es condenado a más de 11 años de prisión por el golpe de Estado.
• RPP: Pedro Castillo es condenado a 11 años, 5 meses y 15 días por el delito de conspiración para rebelión.
• Infogob JNE: ficha oficial de José Pedro Castillo Terrones.