Due to the rise of international criminal gangs, the government in Peru has declared a state of emergency in the north of the country. The measure in parts of the La Libertad region mainly affects the industrial metropolis of Trujillo and the province of Patáz.
The measure will initially apply for 60 days, as Peruvian Defense Minister Jorge Chávez said in Lima on Monday (local time). The state of emergency allows the army to work together with the police against criminal gangs.
“Wave of increasing violence”
“The Peruvian state is not afraid to oppose them and neutralize them,” Minister Chávez said of the international gangs causing unrest in the north of the country, mainly through protection fraud and illegal mining. Prime Minister Alberto Otárola spoke of a “wave of increasing violence linked to criminal organizations.”
In Trujillo and Patáz provinces, commercial activities and large gatherings are now banned between midnight and 4 a.m. (local time) “until the crime wave is finally under control,” the government said. According to authorities, the criminal gangs also commit contract killings and acts of terror against police.
Increase in organized crime
Organized crime in Peru has increased significantly in recent years. The government of the South American Andean country cites the mass exodus from Venezuela as causes, which also involves the arms trade and the spread of Venezuelan gangs such as Tren de Aragua in Peru. According to official figures, almost one death per day has been recorded in Trujillo alone since the beginning of this year.
In neighboring Ecuador, which shares a 2,000-kilometer border with Peru, a state of emergency and curfew were declared in ten of its 24 provinces on January 8.
Source: Krone
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