PERU-POLITICS-RAID
(Photo : JUAN CARLOS CISNEROS/AFP via Getty Images)
Police leave President Dina Boluarte's house during a raid ordered by the Attorney General's Office as part of a preliminary investigation in Lima on March 30, 2024. Peruvian authorities raided President Dina Boluarte's home on March 30 as part of an ongoing corruption investigation related to undisclosed luxury watches.

Peruvian police raided the home of President Dina Boluarte overnight in search of luxury watches linked to an investigation into possible illicit enrichment.  

Police used a battering ram to forcibly enter Boluarte's home after receiving no answer at the door, according to reports from outlets including the Associated Press.

Dozens of armed officers carrying ballistic shields and batons were reportedly on hand for the raid.

While Peru has seen such raids carried out before on the homes of former presidents, this raids marks the first at the home of a sitting president, according to the AP.

Boluarte is being investigated for allegedly acquiring a number of luxury watches since becoming vice president and social inclusion minister in 2021. She became president in 2022.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte
President Dina Boluarte is currently facing an investigation over illicit enrichment connected to luxury watches.
(Photo : (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images))

The investigation started in March after a TV program showed Boluarte wearing a Rolex watch that in Peru is worth up to $14,000. Boluarte was later seen on television wearing at least two additional Rolex watches.

Boluarte, 61, was a district official before entering the government of President Pedro Castillo. Her monthly salary was $8,136 in July 2021, according to the AP. Boluarte later assumed the presidency, with a lower salary of $4,200 per month.

A short time later, she began to be seen wearing the luxury watches. Boluarte reportedly did not list any Rolexes in an obligatory asset declaration document.

Boluarte's lawyer, Mateo Castañeda, told radio station RPP on Saturday morning that police even searched under the carpets at the presidential palace, and found approximately 10 "nice" watches. 

"Staff from the Government Palace completely facilitated the diligence requested by the Attorney General's Office, which was carried out normally and without incident," Peru's presidency said in a statement posted Saturday morning on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.