Peru sentenced former President Martín Vizcarra to 14 years in prison, joining a number of former leaders to be jailed for corruption in the country.
The court said Vizcarra had taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from construction firms in exchange for public contracts during his time as governor. The former leader is expected to serve his sentence in the same prison where three other ex-presidents are held.
Despite years of progress in cleaning up its political systems, corruption has become worse in much of Latin America in recent years, draining already strained public coffers. Estimates show that corruption costs regional countries as much as 5% of their annual GDP.
