(Lima) Peru declared a state of emergency in the north of the country on Monday, authorizing the army to intervene alongside the police in the face of a resurgence of international gangs involved in extortion and mining illegal.
The measure, planned for a period of 60 days in part of the La Libertad region, concerns in particular the industrial center of Trujillo, Peru’s third city, and the province of Pataz where gold panning mafias have established themselves.
“The Peruvian state will not tremble to confront and neutralize them,” Defense Minister Jorge Chávez said at a press conference.
The government justified this decision by the existence of a “wave of growing violence linked to criminal organizations and illegal mining”, according to Prime Minister Alberto Otárola.
In Trujillo and the province of Pataz, services of commercial establishments, large gatherings and shows are suspended between 12 a.m. local time (12 a.m. Eastern Time) and 4 a.m. (4 a.m. Eastern Time), “until the crime wave is finally brought under control.”
The authorities have denounced the fact that organized gangs engage in sponsored assassinations, extortion and commit acts of terror against the police.
Organized crime has evolved significantly in recent years in Peru following the migration crisis in Venezuela, gun trafficking and the presence of gangs such as the “Tren de Aragua” of Venezuelan origin, according to the government .
Since the start of the year, Trujillo has recorded almost one death per day, according to official figures.
During the same period, in Pataz, around twenty gangs of illegal gold miners were accused of having blown up seven high-voltage electricity pylons and attacking official mining companies and police forces with dynamite.
Increased insecurity led the government to create an elite force in November to combat extortion, a crime that has increased in 2023 with the presence of international gangs that intimidate small traders and men of business.
In Ecuador, which shares 2,010 km of border with Peru, the state of emergency declared on January 8 by President Noboa remains in force, with a five-hour nighttime curfew in ten of the 24 provinces, including the capital Quito and the port of Guayaquil in the southwest of the country.