Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski asked US President Donald Trump in a phone call to consider deporting the Andean country's fugitive ex-president, Alejandro Toledo, Kuczynski said in a statement on Sunday.
Peru's fugitive former president Alejandro Toledo, wanted in connection with a far-reaching graft probe, was likely still in the United States where efforts to capture him have stalled on legal hurdles, the Peruvian government said.
Peruvian authorities suspected Toledo would travel late on Saturday from California to Israel, which does not have an extradition treaty with Peru and where his wife has citizenship.
But Toledo, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, did not board a flight that he had booked from San Francisco to Tel Aviv, and Israel said on Sunday that it would not allow him to enter until "his matters are settled in Peru."
The United States asked Peru to provide more evidence of probable cause before ordering Toledo's detention, Interior Minister Carlos Basombrio said.
"It's hard for us to understand what additional indications are needed ... we find what's been uncovered thus far unsettling," Basombrio said.
"US authorities have signaled the "greatest willingness" to cooperate and prosecutors were sending additional information."
The White House did not mention Toledo in a read-out of the presidents conversation
Any disagreement threatens to strain tensions between Trumps' administration and Peru, a traditional US ally in South America and one of the world's biggest producers of cocaine.
Trump said the two leaders spoke to "reinforce the strong bilateral ties that exist between the United States and Peru," the White House said.
Kuczynski said both leaders exchanged their viewpoints on the "ample possibilities for deepening [ties] on the back of agreement on topics of the defense of democratic principles and the fight against corruption."
"Trump also invited Kuczynski to visit the United States," the Kuczynski report said.
On Friday, a day after a judge issued an international arrest warrant for Toledo, the government of President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Toledo was likely in San Francisco with plans to flee to Israel.
Basombrio said the government aimed to draw attention to Toledo to keep him from fleeing the United States, which has an extradition treaty with Peru. Toledo has earned degrees from Stanford University and was last believed to be there on Saturday.
Prosecutors allege Toledo, once an anti-graft crusader who governed Peru from 2001-2006, took $US20million ($NZ27.8mil) in bribes from Brazilian builder Odebrecht, and a judge said he must be detained for up to 18 months during an ongoing inquiry.
Toledo has not been convicted of any crimes yet and his attorney has slammed the judge's order as excessive.
Peru frequently jails suspected criminals for extended periods to keep them from fleeing or obstructing investigations, a practice criticized by some as a violation of due process.
Kuczynski served as prime minister and finance minister during Toledo's 2001-2006 term and has denied any involvement in Odebrecht's kickback schemes.
