A teacher’s shocking murder in front of students has thrust Lima, Peru’s escalating gang violence into the spotlight, prompting widespread protests and strikes across Peru’s capital. The incident highlights the growing reach of organized crime groups and extortion rackets that are crippling businesses and costing the nation billions.
On Monday, October 14, 2024, teacher Julio César Pacheco was gunned down at the gates of Julio C Tello school in Lima’s working-class Ate Vitarte neighborhood. CCTV footage showed panicked children fleeing as Pacheco’s body lay slumped inside the school’s blue metal gates after he was shot by an assassin posing as a courier.
Late into that evening, mothers gathered outside their children’s school in Lima, demanding justice for the teacher.
The brazen daylight killing has become a tipping point for Peruvians fed up with rampant crime and ineffective government action. Workers from various sectors, including transportation and retail, have gone on strike to protest poor law enforcement and recent legislation seen as weakening anti-crime efforts.
Peru’s organized crime problem extends far beyond this single incident. The country is struggling with a multifaceted criminal landscape that includes drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, and widespread extortion.
According to recent data, about half of Lima’s 23,000 shopkeepers are victims of extortion, paying between $25 and $1,000 monthly to criminal groups. The transportation sector is more heavily impacted, with seven out of 10 transport companies making extortion payments averaging $4,000 monthly.
The financial toll on Peru’s economy is staggering. Extortion costs the country more than $1.6 billion annually, equivalent to 0.7% of its national GDP. The figure balloons to $9.28 billion, or 3.5% of GDP when factoring in overall costs.
Adding to public frustration is a controversial new law dubbed “pro-organized crime” by critics. The legislation no longer classifies extortion and assassination as organized crime offenses, potentially leading to reduced sentences. It also imposes new restrictions on police raids, requiring the presence of suspects’ legal representatives – a change that experts fear could allow criminals to destroy evidence.
Peru’s President Dina Boluarte has proposed increased prison terms and deployed soldiers to the streets. However, these suggestions have been criticized as short-term solutions that fail to address the root causes of organized crime in the country.
The surge in violence is not limited to Lima. In Trujillo, Peru’s third-largest city, 20 private schools have been under army protection since June due to extortion threats. The situation underscores how criminal groups are targeting educational institutions as lucrative sources of income. “In Trujillo, all businessmen pay quotas to extortionists,” security analyst Pedro Yaranga Quispe told InSight Crime. “Even the illegal taxi drivers have to pay.”
As Peru struggles with this multifaceted crime wave, law enforcement’s challenges are immense. Corruption within government ranks, the influence of international criminal organizations, and the country’s ongoing political instability all contribute to an environment where organized crime continues to thrive.
