How is organised crime shaping Peru’s elections?

On 19 September, a gunman shot dead Susy Aponte Polo, a journalist running for regional governor during a campaign event in the Peruvian city of Caraz, in Ancash, ahead of the 4 October regional and municipal elections. The candidate had denounced just days before her killing threats against her life over her reporting on alleged corruption in different institutions - including links between a former National Police chief and the Los Pulpos criminal group - as part of her journalistic work.

Laura Calderón Fuentes, South America Analyst at ACLED, said:

“The assassination of a candidate just 15 days before Peru’s regional election is the first of its kind for this electoral race. Susy Aponte, who was running for the regional government of Ancash, was shot dead after speaking publicly about alleged links between police officials and organised crime. 

“Her killing comes at a particularly concerning time, not only amid a four-year rise in political violence linked to the expansion of organized crime in Peru, but as violence becomes increasingly targeted at political figures and journalists. ACLED records 8 such attacks so far in 2026, approaching ACLED’s record high of 10, since 2018, set only last year.

“Political violence in Peru concentrates in the capital, Lima, where multiple local and transnational organized crime groups converge, and in La Libertad region, where Los Pulpos gang primarily extorts public transportation and businesses. Ancash is situated in the middle, and Aponte’s killing is an indicator of how criminal groups are further expanding into the region.

“The increase in violence in Peru is one of the main challenges for President Keiko Fujimori’s administration and has been one of the central points of debate among candidates and one of voters’ main concerns. This high-profile killing two months into her presidency brings the question of whether her hardline approach against crime will be enough to prevent crime from further disrupting the electoral process.

“So far, the government has limited its approach to imposing states of emergency to allow the military to intervene in public safety duties, including the protection of poll stations during election day. Nonetheless, curbing violence will depend on whether the government is able to materialize international cooperation after Peru recently joined the Shield of the Americas, strengthen police operational capabilities, dismantle corruption networks in state institutions, and provide effective protection measures to politically exposed groups”.