Published on Deutsche Welle on 11 June 2017
LIMA, Peru – When he came out of Ancón prison in March, Italian-born Davide Cannavo, 33, was lucky enough to have Peruvian friends of his family who picked him up and provided a place to stay. Many foreigners stand lost in front of the prison gates, in a deserted area on the outskirts of the capital. However, Cannavo’s acquaintances couldn’t bring him to the airport; after spending almost seven years in prison for attempting to smuggle cocaine out of the country, he wasn’t free to leave the country yet.
Foreign ex-convicts have to go through a bureaucratic process in Peru which takes, on average, around 8 months to complete. They need to get their reparation and rehabilitation documents, which take time to complete and, furthermore, need to be paid for. These documents then have to be approved by the police and migration ministry for foreign ex-convicts to leave the country. It’s a difficult process for foreigners.