Police raid Peruvian President’s home in search of Rolex watches

Lima, Peru — Police and prosecutors in Peru carried out a surprise raid at the home of President Dina Boluarte and the presidential palace early Saturday as part of an “unlawful enrichment” investigation into news reports that she had been seen wearing Rolex watches since taking office.

Police used a battering ram to force their way into Boluarte’s home in Lima, according to live coverage on Latina Noticias. Prosecutors and police then searched Boluarte’s office and residence in the presidential palace.

The president had failed to appear this past week for a scheduled appointment with prosecutors to show them three Rolex watches she has worn and to explain how she obtained them. She also refused to allow them into her house to execute a search warrant, according to Attorney General Juan Villena, who told lawmakers that her refusal was “a clear indicator of rebellion.”

The investigation into Boluarte began March 18, after online news program La Encerrona revealed that she had started wearing increasingly expensive watches, including at least one Rolex, since taking office in December 2022. Prosecutors suspect her of violating the country’s laws against unlawful enrichment and failing to declare assets. In Peru, elected authorities must report to the government any assets worth more than 10,300 soles (about $2,774) and disclose any gifts received from third parties.

Local news outlets have since reported that Boluarte has worn three other Rolex watches, as well as a $50,000 Cartier bracelet, and that banking authorities have detected about $300,000 in deposits of unknown origin made to her personal accounts before she took office.

Boluarte has denied wrongdoing, but she has also declined to explain the origin of the Rolexes publicly, saying only that the first Rolex watch that drew attention was an item “from long ago.” “It’s in my DNA to not be corrupt,” she told journalists March 15. “What I have is the fruit of my efforts and my work.”

In a televised address Saturday, Boluarte, flanked by ministers in her Cabinet, blamed news outlets for creating “smoke screens” that fuel “chaos and uncertainty.”

“I’m an honest woman. I entered the presidential palace with clean hands, and that’s how I’ll leave in 2026,” she said.