According to CNN, the 10 suspects were charged with acting as agents of a foreign government and 9 were also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. The crimes carry a penalty of 5 to 20 years in prison.
The AP reports Peláez was videotaped in 2000 meeting with a Russian government official. A complaint indicates she received payment in exchange for information. Another, that she and her husband discussed ways to pass covert messages to Russian officials.
In a story published today in El Diario/La Prensa, her sons claim the accusation against their mother is “ridiculous.” The Spanish-language paper points out her arrest comes weeks after she wrote a column suggesting the Russians should use a nuclear bomb to solve the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Peláez, who has often written columns critical of the United States, is a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Peru.