Peru says bid to detain fugitive ex-president stalled in U.S.
By Mitra Taj LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's fugitive former president Alejandro Toledo, wanted in connection with a far-reaching graft probe, was likely still in the United States where efforts to capture him have stalled on legal hurdles, the Peruvian government said on Sunday. Peruvian authorities had suspected Toledo would travel late on Saturday from California to Israel, which does not have an extradition treaty with Peru and where his wife has citizenship. But Toledo, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, did not board a flight that he had booked from San Francisco to Tel Aviv, and Israel said on Sunday that it would not allow him to enter until "his matters are settled in Peru." The United States has asked Peru to provide more evidence of probable cause before ordering Toledo's detention, Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio said. "It's hard for us to understand what additional indications are needed ... we find what's been uncovered thus far unsettling," Basombrio said. U.S. authorities have signaled the "greatest willingness" to cooperate and prosecutors were sending additional information, Basombrio added. The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment. The disagreement threatens to strain tensions between the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and Peru, a traditional U.S. ally in South America and one of the world's biggest producers of cocaine. On Friday, a day after a judge issued an international arrest warrant for Toledo, the government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Toledo was likely in San Francisco with plans to flee to Israel. But the announcement upset the attorney general's office, which would have preferred to coordinate discretely with U.S. and Israeli authorities in order to catch him by surprise, a source with knowledge of the case told Reuters. Basombrio said the government aimed to draw attention to Toledo to keep him from fleeing the United States, which has an extradition treaty with Peru. Toledo has earned degrees from Stanford University and was last believed to be there on Saturday. Prosecutors allege Toledo, once an anti-graft crusader who governed Peru from 2001-2006, took $20 million in bribes from Brazilian builder Odebrecht, and a judge said he must be detained for up to 18 months during an ongoing inquiry. Toledo has not been convicted of any crimes yet and his attorney has slammed the judge's order as excessive. Peru frequently jails suspected criminals for extended periods to keep them from fleeing or obstructing investigations, a practice criticized by some as a violation of due process. Kuczynski served as prime minister and finance minister during Toledo's 2001-2006 term and has denied any involvement in Odebrecht's kickback schemes. (Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Alan Crosby and Sandra Maler)
