Jorge López Peña: New Minister of Health has investigations by the Prosecutor's Office against him

On April 7, Jorge López Peña was sworn in as the new Minister of Health, replacing Hernán Condori. He is a surgeon from the National University of the Center, specializing in radiology. However, it has just come to light that he would have an investigation in the Prosecutor's Office.

Walter Calderón, member of the Board of Directors of the Medical College of Junín, said that the current head of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) has an investigation in the Prosecutor's Office for falsehood and serious prejudice to the tranquility that began when he was president of the medical staff at EsSalud de Huancayo.

“You have several complaints, but the main one is the one in April 2020, in which the Prosecutor for Crime Prevention admits and suggests that there would be a criminal organization in the hospital, but despite that they are still in preliminaries. The statements took a long time, the fiscal folder went astray, the prosecutor was complained, she is now in charge of prosecutor Ivonne Barroso,” she told América Noticias.

López Pena, since March he served as deputy minister of public health, but before that he worked as director of the Daniel Alcides Carrión hospital. According to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic, during that administration he would have contracted improperly with a company from the relatives of a mayor.

“A week after the complaint made by Dr. López, he and another doctor were threatened with death with the same letters and the same messages. All these problems arise due to the refusal of the authorities on duty at the EsSalud hospital,” added Calderón.

CLOSENESS TO VLADIMIR CERRON

On the other hand, the new head of Minsa would be very close to Vladimir Cerrón, since the time when he served as director of the Daniel Alcides Carrión Regional Teaching Hospital in Huancayo, in the Junín region. In this way, this sector remains in the shadow of the secretary general of Peru Libre.

As is recalled, on Thursday, March 31, the Congress of the Republic censored Condori as Minister of Health. By 71 votes in favour, 32 against and 13 abstentions, Parliament accepted the motion tabled against the now former Minister of Health, who had already been challenged on 23 March.

Condori had taken office to replace Hernando Cevallos, in February 2022, after Pedro Castillo's fourth cabinet was sworn in.

“I will not deny that I am a militant and co-founder of the national political party Peru Libre and I will not deny that I am a friend of Dr. Vladimir Cerrón, but the one who invites me to this position is the president of the Republic,” the former Minister of Health said at a press conference last February.

Although Condori claimed to be ready for the position, however, the doctor was questioned about promoting the sale of ClusterX2, also known as “bunchy water”. A video was broadcast where he attributed medicinal properties that are not proven or certified by any official or academic authority and used his status as a doctor to promote a service for the diagnosis of cervical cancer in one minute, despite not having the specialty of gynecology or oncology.

In addition, the Medical College of Peru (CMP), which opposed Condori's appointment from the outset, received another complaint in mid-March for a possible violation of the code of ethics: during a trip he boarded a sick girl on a helicopter and loaded her to an ambulance in the Government Palace. Thus, he exposed it to the press to show that he was expediting his transfer to a pediatric center.