Peruvian president Dina Boluarte rejected accusations of corruption on Saturday after police looking for luxury watches used a battering ram to knock down her front door. Dozens of officers, accompanied by officials from the public prosecutor's office, raided Boluarte's home around midnight Friday and then searched the nearby presidential palace, reports Reuters. She was at her office at the time, according to Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen. Boluarte said Saturday that she rejects the "unconstitutional and discriminatory" way the investigation is being carried out, the AP reports.
Officers used the battering ram Friday night after waiting for several minutes for someone to open the door. Boluarte, who called the raid on her home "disproportionate" and "abusive," said police didn't give her family members enough time to get dressed and answer the door. The president is being investigated over allegations that she has a collection of luxury watches of unexplained origin that were not listed on a mandatory asset declaration form, reports the AP. The investigation was launched after news reports drew attention to watches she wore at public events, including a $14,000 Rolex, the BBC reports.
Boluarte, whose presidential salary is $4,200 per month, initially said she had just one Rolex, bought with her savings, but news reports spotted two others. In a pre-recorded televised address Saturday, she said her lawyer had advised her not to discuss the watches before she speaks to prosecutors to "clarify the facts" next week, but she denied corruption was involved. "I have always been an honest woman," the 61-year-old said. Adrianzen criticized the raids and said Boluarte does not intend to resign. "The political noise that is being made is serious, affecting investments and the entire country," he said. (More Dina Boluarte stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
