After winning the first round of presidential elections, Castillo stated regarding Venezuela that "[t]here is no Chavismo here", saying of President Maduro "if there is something he has to say concerning Peru, that he first fix his internal problems."[1][2] He also called on Maduro to take Venezuelan refugees back to their native country, saying that Venezuelans arrived in Peru "to commit crimes."[55] Castillo described the Venezuelan refugee crisis as an issue of "human trafficking", and said that he would give Venezuelans who commit crimes seventy-two hours to leave Peru.[3][4][55]