President Ollanta Humala’s family causes embarrassment in Peru (VIDEO)
Peruvian President Ollanta Humala speaks after signing agreements with Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa before the closing ceremony of the fifth binational ministerial cabinets meeting and presidential round in Chiclayo, 750 km north of Lima, on February 29, 2012. Lucky for Humala, his family did not attend.
President Ollanta Humala's family has been giving the Peruvian leader more headaches than the mining protests and economy of his South American country. His father's eccentricities have caused Humala embarrassment (he founded an ethnic nationalist group for the Incans), but it's his brothers who are really bringing him down.
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One of his brothers, Antauro, was recently shown on TV show Sin Medias Tintas smoking pot in prison, among other things, according to Peru this Week. Another brother, Ulises, told the media that it is Humala's wife, Nadine, who actually runs the country, reported Reuters. And yet another brother, Alexis, decided to negotiate gas deals with Russia — without permission.
But it's Antauro's shenanigans that have been a particularly big thorn in Humala's side. The footage that aired on Peruvian TV showed the president's brother rolling what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette alongside his cellmate at Piedras Gordas prison on April 10, 2011, according to Peru this Week. He and his cellmate also discussed the relaxed attitude of the prison staff, saying they can smoke pot without being bothered by guards.
Antauro, who is serving a 19-year prison sentence for leading a 2005 coup attempt that killed four police officers, also photographed himself romping around with his girlfriends and using his iPhone in prison in open mockery of guards, reported Reuters.
The evidence of Antauro's behavior came only a week after leaked emails showed the president's brother held influence and power from his jail cell, according to Peru this Week. While in Piedras Gordas, he has been given special privileges, including use of an iPhone, a laptop with internet access and a refrigerator, said a prison employee. He has even received job requests by email.
"His cell looked like an employment office," the unnamed prison employee said to Peru this Week.
Humala was found guilty on six charges relating to the attempted coup, including voluntary manslaughter, rebellion and kidnapping, reported Peru this Week. He was recently transferred from Piedras Gordas, a maximum-security prison, to Virgen de la Merced Prison, in Chorrillos.