Overview
- Closing arguments ended on Nov. 14 with Pedro Castillo’s court-appointed lawyer invoking the ex-president’s 2021 story to tell judges they “have the chicken in their hands.”
- The defense argued the prosecution failed to establish rebellion or conspiracy, saying there was no armed uprising or agreement and that Castillo’s Dec. 7, 2022 address was an individual political proclamation.
- The Public Ministry counters that the televised message, coordination with senior officials, and movements at the presidential palace show an attempted coup.
- The case moves to the defendants’ self-defense phase at the next hearing, with the court to set deliberations and a sentencing date thereafter.
- Castillo remains in preventive detention, and the verdict is expected to set a key precedent for presidential accountability in attempts to upend the constitutional order.