Peru’s new interim leader oversees prison raids in bid to get tough on surging crime
LIMA, Peru (AP) — In one of his first performances as interim president of PeruThe presidency said José Jerí on Saturday carried out a series of raids on prisons holding gang leaders across the country, a day after his unpopular predecessor was ousted for failure to curb rising crime.
Flanked by elite police officers and wearing a crisp white shirt with rolled up sleeves, 38-year-old Jerí had a tough-on-crime message as he entered the maximum-security Ancón I prison in the Peruvian capital Lima on Saturday to oversee cell-to-cell searches for contraband. Authorities said that a search in the prison revealed smuggled mobile phones, drugs and sharp objects used as weapons.
The president’s office said Jerí’s visit to Ancón I coincided with raids on three other prisons across Peru, including Lima’s overcrowded Lurigancho prison, Challapalca maximum security prison in the high Andes and El Milagro prison in the north of the country.
Pre-dawn prison crackdown comes after blitz Dismissal of former President Dina BoluarteJust hours after a shooting at a concert in Lima on Friday, public anger flared at the wave of gang violence sweeping the South American nation. Boluarte’s tenure was also plagued by frequent protests and corruption scandals.
As president of the congress, Jerí was next in line to assume power after lawmakers impeached Boluarte. The conservative lawyer is expected to hold the top job until July 2026, after the country elects a new president in general elections scheduled for April 12.
He immediately declared that his priority was to combat Peru’s widespread lawlessness.
“The evil that affects us now is public insecurity,” Jerí told lawmakers after being sworn in on Friday. “The real enemy is on the streets. Criminal gangs and criminal organizations are our enemies today.”
Homicides in Peru have increased recently, from 2,082 murders recorded last year (half of which were contract killings); The previous record, set in 2017, had only 676 homicides.
Crime gangs collect “protection” fees from a growing number of businesses, from bands to shipping companies, while extortion cases soar from 16,333 in 2022 to 22,348 last year.
Peru’s insecurity crisis has worsened due to political turmoil that has gripped the country since 2018. In the past seven years, the country has seen seven presidents. Three people, including Boluarte, were impeached, and two others resigned to avoid dismissal.
