Constitutional Court Annuls Vladimir Cerrón's Pre-trial Detention for Organised Crime
The Constitutional Court granted Cerrón's habeas corpus petition and annulled the resolutions upholding his detention in the case involving organised crime and money laundering.
Constitutional Court Annuls Cerrón's Pre-trial Detention and Orders Alternative Measures from the Judiciary
The Constitutional Court (CC) granted the habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Vladimir Cerrón Rojas and annulled the resolutions sustaining his pre-trial detention in the proceedings against him for organised crime and money laundering, according to infobae.com. The ruling, issued in Lima on 3 July 2026, also invalidated, by connection, the decisions handed down in 2023 and 2024 that replaced restricted release with pre-trial detention.
Annulled Resolutions
Specifically, the CC invalidated Resolution 8 of 3 June 2025, which rejected changing pre-trial detention to restricted release, and Resolution 3 of 4 July 2025, which confirmed it. By connection, it also annulled Resolution 4 of 18 December 2023 and Resolution 2 of 15 January 2024. The panel ordered the judicial body to impose alternative measures guaranteeing Cerrón's presence at trial and preventing acts of procedural obstruction.
The petition had been filed by lawyer José Enrique Llumpo Agapito against the ruling of the First Constitutional Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima, which had declared the claim inadmissible. The case challenged actions by the Sixth Court of National Preparatory Investigation and the Third National Criminal Appeals Chamber.
Chronology of the Proceedings
The procedural sequence began on 10 November 2022, when the Public Prosecutor requested 36 months of pre-trial detention against Cerrón. The request was rejected on 25 November of that year: the Judiciary imposed restricted release, a bond of S/ 20,000 and rules of conduct that included not leaving his locality without authorisation and attending biometric check-ins. The measure was confirmed on 6 January 2023.
In parallel, another proceeding resulted in a conviction for collusion on 7 February 2023, with an initial sentence of four years' imprisonment. Following the corresponding appeal, on 6 October of the same year the sentence was confirmed, although the penalty was set at three years and six months' custodial imprisonment.
Subsequently, in the case of organised crime and money laundering, the Public Prosecutor requested changing restricted release to pre-trial detention on the alleged grounds of breaching the imposed rules. On 18 December 2023, the court ordered 36 months of pre-trial detention, a measure ratified on 15 January 2024. However, on 26 March 2025, the Supreme Court acquitted Cerrón in the collusion case, an argument his defence used to challenge the existence of flight risk.
Grounds for the Ruling
For the majority of the court, the contested resolutions "violated the right to proper reasoning of judicial decisions", in connection with personal liberty. The CC emphasised that pre-trial detention is an exceptional, provisional and variable measure, whose continuation depends on the objective reasons justifying its imposition remaining valid.
The central point of the analysis was determining whether changes in other judicial proceedings altered the procedural danger, particularly the flight risk. The panel concluded that the contested resolutions did not sufficiently evaluate this new scenario. According to the ruling, the absence of a detention order linked to an effective sentence affected the reasoning of the resolutions and rendered the grounds for maintaining the measure insufficient.
Divided Votes
The decision was not unanimous. Justices Domínguez Haro, Morales Saravia and Gutiérrez Ticse agreed with the outcome, although they raised nuances in their reasoning and indicated that the change in circumstances required reviewing the intensity of the restrictive measure.
In the opposite position, Justices Ochoa Cardich and Monteagudo Valdez, together with Justice Pacheco Zerga, issued separate opinions. They argued that Cerrón's evasive conduct could keep the procedural danger valid and rejected that breaching judicial decisions could be justified under an alleged right of resistance or objection.
No Automatic Release
The CC ruling did not order Cerrón's immediate release. The resolution solely annulled pre-trial detention in the organised crime and money laundering case, and ordered the Judiciary to establish alternative restrictive measures guaranteeing his presence in the proceedings and preventing possible interference in the investigation.
Source: Google News PE — Crime