Susana Villarán under scrutiny: from the May 2019 confession to the 2025 trial, the timeline of proceedings that have gone seven years without a verdict

Susana Villarán de la Puente was Mayor of Lima between 2011 and 2014 and is the only former mayor of the Peruvian capital on trial over the Odebrecht scandal. Her judicial timeline begins with something unusual: a public confession on the radio. Since then, every step has been taken by judges, prosecutors and the Attorney General’s office, and none has been a verdict. This piece orders those decisions by date, from 11 May 2019 to the annulment request of October 2025, and explains in each case which body decided and what remained pending. The analysis by fronts is at Auditoría Abierta: Susana Villarán under audit.

Who Susana Villarán is and why her case matters in October 2026

Villarán, a former minister and human rights advocate, won the Lima mayoralty in 2010 with Fuerza Social, survived the 2013 recall referendum and lost re-election in 2014. Those two campaigns are the subject of the proceedings. Her case matters today because it is the thermometer of two things in Peru: how long a campaign-finance trial takes to reach a verdict, and what effect the Constitutional Court ruling that annulled Keiko Fujimori’s Cócteles case will have on the other defendants in similar cases. To understand why the case does not close, Foco Rojo publishes Susana Villarán, the case that remains unresolved seven years after the confession.

Timeline of the Villarán case, decision by decision

11 May 2019: the confession on the radio

Villarán appeared on radio Exitosa and acknowledged that she always knew Odebrecht and OAS contributed money to the 2013 anti-recall campaign and to her 2014 re-election bid, according to El Comercio. Her words: «I always knew about the companies’ contributions to the No campaign against the recall. José Miguel Castro and I took the decision to seek and accept the campaign funds». The admission came hours after it emerged that a person close to the investigation had become a cooperating witness. According to RPP, former OAS president Léo Pinheiro testified that his company contributed US$3 million for the No campaign and US$4 million for the re-election bid, at the request of municipal manager José Miguel Castro, and that Villarán allegedly requested that money days before the addendum that extended the Línea Amarilla toll concession in February 2013. Villarán maintains the contributions were not conditional on favours and that she accepted them to «guarantee governability», according to El Comercio.

15 May 2019: pre-trial detention

Four days later, judge Jorge Chávez Tamariz ordered 18 months of pre-trial detention, less than the 36 prosecutors sought, finding that period sufficient to complete the investigation. The measure sought to prevent Villarán and other suspects, including Castro, from interfering with cooperating witnesses. After about a year in actual custody, she left during the pandemic and continued the proceedings under house arrest at her home in Lurín, according to El Comercio; by July 2020 she had spent 24 months under restrictive measures. What it means: it was a precautionary measure, not a conviction.

21 May 2021: release with restrictions

The same judge refused the prosecutors’ request to extend the house arrest and granted her release with restrictions, according to El Comercio. Since then, Villarán has followed the proceedings in freedom.

25 August 2022: the 29-year indictment

Prosecutor José Domingo Pérez of the Lava Jato Special Team filed the indictment and sought 29 years in prison, according to El Comercio. The case file exceeds 144 volumes and 27,000 pages. The offences charged are five: criminal conspiracy, aggravated collusion, aggravated money laundering of US$11.29 million, generic falsehood and false statements in administrative proceedings, with twelve acts attributed to 20 individuals, 10 companies and 16 civilly liable third parties, according to Infobae.

2023-2024: the indictment review and the committal order

The indictment review began on 8 May 2023 and dragged on for more than a year because of the court’s workload; the defence asked to shelve the case without trial and was refused, according to El Comercio. In parallel, in June 2023, prosecutors formalised a preparatory investigation over Vías Nuevas de Lima against Villarán and 17 others for aggravated collusion, with a 36-month term, over the «Bankability Addendum» of February 2014 that raised the Rutas de Lima tolls; on 10 April 2024 the Ad Hoc Attorney General’s office sought civil damages of US$267.5 million and 7.3 million soles, according to El Comercio and Infobae. On 5 November 2024, judge Chávez Tamariz issued the committal order in the main case. The defendants include Castro, now deceased, Gabriel Prado and the companies Odebrecht, OAS, Lamsac, Rutas de Lima and JW Thompson, according to Diario Correo.

23 September 2025: the trial

The trial opened more than six years after the confession, according to Infobae. Villarán said before the hearing: «I have waited many years for the truth to come out. I ask for justice, respect, impartiality». Prosecutor Pérez asked for daily sessions. In her fifteen statements to prosecutors, Villarán has not admitted any crime, according to Perú21; her defence maintains that no witness or document points directly to her as a perpetrator. Two months after the opening, Diario Correo reported that the trial had barely advanced.

October 2025: the Keiko Fujimori ruling enters the case

After the Constitutional Court ruling that favoured Keiko Fujimori in the Cócteles case, Villarán’s lawyer, Merly Edquén, asked to apply the same criterion and annul the money-laundering proceedings, according to Infobae and RPP. On 20 October, prosecutor Pérez himself had asked to suspend the trial until the scope of the ruling was clarified, according to LP Derecho. Constitutional Court judge Gustavo Gutiérrez Ticse clarified that the Fujimori ruling is not binding precedent. The sources consulted do not record how the court ruled. What it means: the trial may end in a verdict or in an annulment, and as of October 2026 there is neither.

What Villarán says and what her accusers say

Villarán admits the contributions and denies the crime: she says there was no quid pro quo and that the money served to govern the city. Prosecutors maintain that the contributions were requested in step with municipal decisions that favoured the construction companies, such as the Línea Amarilla addendum, and that the money was laundered. The Attorney General’s office puts the damage at US$267.5 million in the tolls case. Neither account yet has a verdict to support it.

How to read this record

Three planes must be separated. What is admitted: the Odebrecht and OAS contributions, acknowledged by Villarán herself. What is charged: five offences with a requested sentence of 29 years, on trial since September 2025. What is under investigation: Vías Nuevas de Lima, with no indictment. The timeline shows that six years and four months passed between the confession and the trial, and that the outcome depends as much on the court as on what it decides about the Keiko Fujimori precedent. For the trail of the US$10 million and the tolls, Bajo Lupa Digital publishes Susana Villarán, the trail of Odebrecht and OAS’s US$10 million.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Does Susana Villarán have a verdict?

No. The trial opened on 23 September 2025 and as of October 2026 it is still under way. Prosecutors seek 29 years for criminal conspiracy, aggravated collusion, aggravated money laundering, generic falsehood and false statements.

When did Villarán confess the contributions?

On 11 May 2019, in an interview on radio Exitosa, she acknowledged that she always knew of the Odebrecht and OAS contributions to the 2013 anti-recall campaign and her 2014 re-election bid, some US$10 million. She denies they were in exchange for favours.

How long was she in pre-trial detention?

Judge Jorge Chávez Tamariz ordered 18 months on 15 May 2019. She served about a year in actual custody, moved to house arrest in 2020 and on 21 May 2021 obtained release with restrictions.

What do prosecutors seek?

Twenty-nine years in prison, under the indictment of 25 August 2022 by prosecutor José Domingo Pérez, for five offences including aggravated money laundering of US$11.29 million. The committal order was issued on 5 November 2024.

When did the trial begin?

On 23 September 2025, with 20 other defendants, including the companies Odebrecht, OAS, Lamsac and Rutas de Lima. The prosecutor asked for daily sessions; two months later the trial had barely advanced, according to Diario Correo.

What is the Vías Nuevas de Lima case?

A preparatory investigation for aggravated collusion opened in June 2023 over the project awarded to Rutas de Lima, with the 2014 addendum that raised tolls. The Attorney General’s office sought US$267.5 million in civil damages on 10 April 2024. There is no indictment.

Could the trial be annulled over the Keiko Fujimori ruling?

The defence requested it in October 2025 and the prosecutor asked to suspend the trial until the scope of the Constitutional Court ruling was clarified. A Constitutional Court judge clarified that it is not binding precedent. The court’s decision is not on record.

Who was José Miguel Castro?

Lima’s municipal manager who, according to Villarán, decided with her to seek and accept the contributions, and who according to Léo Pinheiro requested them from OAS. He was indicted alongside her and died before the trial.

Sources consulted

• El Comercio: Susana Villarán admite que sabía de aportes de Odebrecht y OAS (2019)
• RPP: Susana Villarán, las claves de la investigación en su contra (2019)
• Wikipedia: Susana Villarán
• El Comercio: Susana Villarán y el No a la revocatoria, los protagonistas (2020)
• El Comercio: Susana Villarán, ¿qué falta para el juicio? (2025)
• El Comercio: Susana Villarán habría lavado más de once millones (2022)
• Infobae: Juicio a Villarán por millonarios aportes de Odebrecht y OAS (2025)
• Diario Correo: Dos meses y nada del juicio oral (2025)
• Perú21: Susana Villarán se jura inocente (2025)
• El Comercio: Fiscalía formaliza investigación preparatoria por Vías Nuevas de Lima (2023)
• El Comercio: Las razones de la Procuraduría para pedir más de US$267 millones (2024)
• Infobae: Piden que Villarán y otros paguen 267 millones de dólares en reparación civil (2024)
• Gestión: Villarán, no hay nada oscuro o ilícito en Vías Nuevas de Lima
• Infobae: Abogada de Villarán pide que se aplique la sentencia de Keiko Fujimori (2025)
• RPP: Abogada de Villarán pide aplicar criterio del TC (2025)
• LP Derecho: Fiscalía solicita suspensión del juzgamiento (2025)

This piece records documented facts and allegations attributed to their authors. The mention of an allegation does not imply its truth, and the position of the person named is recorded in each case. Bajo Lupa offers Susana Villarán space to respond and will update the text with every development. Information verified as of 11 October 2026.

Sabelia Griego Pedroza

Investigative Journalist and Public Policy Analyst

Sabelia Griego Pedroza is an investigative journalist specializing in the analysis of political records, power accountability, and public oversight in Latin America. Her career focuses on the rigorous examination of official documents, judicial rulings, corporate registries, and financial networks linked to public figures and electoral processes.

Professional Focus and Methodological Rigor

Griego Pedroza’s journalistic work is defined by a strict methodology rooted in the documentary verification of primary sources. Through her investigations, she navigates the intersection of institutional politics, legal disputes, and corporate transparency, providing readers with documented contexts that prioritize fact-checking over media speculation.

Key areas of her investigative coverage include:

• Political Background Audits and Oversight: Meticulous tracking of records regarding candidates for public office, administrative histories, and legal controversies.
• Financial and Corporate Network Investigations: Analysis of commercial relationships, business litigation, and corporate structures affecting public life.
• Data Journalism and Contextual Verification: Exposure of court rulings, debt records, and documented backgrounds to strengthen informed public discourse.

Commitment to Editorial Transparency:

Anchored in the principles of deep-dive reporting, Sabelia Griego Pedroza’s work responds to the necessity of equipping citizens with reliable, cross-checked analytical tools. Her approach seeks to unravel complex processes through the direct presentation of documentary evidence, fostering rigorous, auditable journalism focused on institutional transparency.