Latest news with #PaulFlores
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Peruvian schoolkids living in fear of extortion gangs
First they came for shop owners and bus drivers, ordering them to pay protection money on pain of death. Now the extortion gangs terrorising Peru have set their sights on fee-paying schools, threatening to kill staff or parents "inside or outside" the classroom unless they fork out tens of thousands of dollars. Fearing for pupils' safety, hundreds of private schools have shut their doors and moved classes online in recent months, highlighting the worsening security crisis in the gang-plagued South American country. The southern hemisphere's new school year began in March but for pupils of San Vicente primary and secondary school in northern Lima it only really started this week. Classes had barely begun last month when a gang attacked the school with explosives for refusing to pay $27,000 in protection money. No-one was injured in the attack, which damaged the entrance door, but the school's 1,200 students were immediately ordered to stay home for a month. When they returned this week, children pulling brightly-colored bags on wheels and anxious parents gripping their hands were greeted by a sobering sight: five soldiers in fatigues with assault rifles and face masks standing guard at the entrance. - 'Like a pandemic, with weapons' - Extortion is rife across Latin America but has grown to colossal proportions in Peru, where local gangs and transnational outfits like Venezuela's Tren de Aragua are accused of holding entire towns to ransom. Million-dollar profits make the shakedown business more lucrative than drug or human trafficking, according to intelligence sources. President Dina Boluarte in March declared a month-long state of emergency in Lima, sending soldiers into the streets to help keep the peace after a wave of killings linked to extortion -- including that of a cumbia music star Paul Flores. Schools are increasingly targets for crime syndicates, which see rich pickings in establishments like San Vicente that charges $1,485 in annual tuition fees. Giannina Miranda, president of the Freedom to Educate Collective, an association of private schools, told AFP 325 establishments across the country had been forced to suspend classroom learning indefinitely. In all, 500 private schools have been affected by racketeering, she said. "It's like a pandemic, but with weapons," the 40-year-old father of a boy that attends San Vicente school told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. The man said he lived in fear of "the most precious thing, our children" getting hurt. - Kill 'inside or outside' school - Before the attack, San Vicente's management had received a WhatsApp message from unknown persons demanding 100,000 Peruvian soles (around $27,000) to not target the school. After the attack the school received a new threat by video. "I ALREADY BLEW UP YOUR SCHOOL AND YOU HAVE STILL HAVE NOT GIVEN ME A SOLUTION," read a message written on a white page, which was surrounded by bullets, rifles and pistols. It ended with a threat to kill a security guard, teacher or parent "inside or outside the school." A 70-year-old woman dropping off her grandchild at San Vicente told AFP that faced with "so much fear and tension," many families were considering keeping their children at home. The 30-year-old mother of a six-year-old boy who attends another private school in northern Lima, Pitagoras, that has also suspended classes over racketeering, told AFP she struggled to answer her son when he asked whether "something very bad is happening." Wearing sunglasses and a face mask to conceal her identity, she said: "I have to teach my son that when he goes back to school if he hears a shot or if he hears an explosion, he has to throw himself under his desk for protection." - President under pressure - According to Peruvian police, the number of complaints filed for racketeering fell 13 percent year-on-year in 2024, to 19,443. But authorities admitted that many victims don't report threats or attacks to the police, out of fear for their lives. In the first three months of the year, 459 homicides were recorded in urban areas in Peru -- the highest figure in two decades. The mother of another student at Pitagoras compared the climate of terror to that instilled by a brutal left-wing insurgency in Peru in the 1980s and 1990s. The situation has battered Boluarte's already shaky approval ratings. A recent poll showed 93 percent of Peruvians unhappy with her leadership. cm-vel/cb/tgb/
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Yahoo
Popular Singer Killed By Hitmen At 39
A state of emergency has been declared after a popular singer was shot and killed by hitmen in his home country. Paul Flores, a 39-year-old singer, was shot and killed by hitmen in Peru earlier this month. The popular singer was reportedly attacked as he was leaving a concert venue. He and his bandmates had reportedly left a concert venue outside of Lima, Peru. The hitmen reportedly attacked the bus that was carrying Flores and his bandmates. He reportedly suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, he died from his injuries at the hospital. Flores is the latest in a string of violence in Peru, as a state of emergency has been declared. Peru's culture ministry released a statement on his passing this week. "The Ministry of Culture expresses its deep regret for the death of Paul Hambert Flores García, renowned singer of the emblematic group Armonía 10, who, with his talent and charisma, won the hearts of thousands of Peruvians," they announced on X, formerly known as Twitter. According to reports, the musician and his bandmates had been threatened by the gang members for extortion. It's the latest in a string of fatal extortion attempts in Peru. Gustavo Adrianzen, head of the ministerial cabinet, admitted that a state of emergency is necessary. "It has been ordered that in the coming hours, a state of emergency be decreed throughout the province of Lima and the Constitutional province of Callao," he wrote. "In the fight against organized crime, all Peruvians must stand united, overcoming all our differences of any kind." Peru is reportedly dealing with an "alarming" amount of extortion attempts, and the military is deploying troops to help deal with the scary situation. There have reportedly been more than 400 murders and more than 14,000 extortion complaints over the past year or so.
Boston Globe
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Deeply unpopular Peruvian president calls for general elections in April 2026
She said the upcoming elections will be 'democratic, clean, transparent and orderly.' Boluarte has a 93% disapproval rating, according to a national poll conducted by Datum Internacional in March. Her term ends on July 28, 2026. Advertisement Last week, Peru's Congress voted to remove the interior minister from office after deciding that he had failed to adequately handle rising violent crime in the Andean country. Public outrage has surged over an increase in killings and other violence, especially the recent killing of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia 10. He was fatally shot when assailants attacked his band's tour bus after a concert in Lima. In reaction to the Flores killing, Boluarte on March 19 declared a state of emergency in the capital and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address the surge of violence. That same day, opposition lawmakers requested a vote of no confidence against the interior minister. Boluarte's government previously had decreed a state of emergency from September to December in an attempt to stem the violence. Authorities reported 2,057 killings in 2024, up from 1,506 in 2023.
Arab News
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Peru declares an emergency and deploys the army as violence surges in the capital
LIMA: Peru's president declared a state of emergency in the capital Monday and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address a surge of violence, amid widespread outcry a day after the killing of a popular Dina Boluarte's government published a decree saying that the state of emergency will last 30 days, and authorities will restrict some rights, including the freedom of assembly and movement. That means the police and the army would be able to detain people without a judicial has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. Police reported 459 killings from Jan. 1 to March 16, and 1,909 extortion reports in January alone. But outrage crested after the killing Sunday of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia Congress, opposition lawmakers requested a vote of no confidence against Interior Minister Juan José Santiváñez for what they say is a lack of a plan to fight rising violence. The vote is expected to be discussed in the Congress' plenary later this was shot to death early Sunday when assailants attacked the bus he and bandmates were traveling after a concert in Lima. Cumbia is a Latin music style that people dance to the rhythm of drums, maracas and other attack against the popular singer was not the only violent event over the weekend. On Saturday, an object exploded at a restaurant in the capital, injuring at least 11 government previously decreed a state of emergency in an attempt to stem the violence between September and December.
Nahar Net
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Peru declares emergency and deploys army as violence surges in capital
by Naharnet Newsdesk 18 March 2025, 12:37 Peru's president declared a state of emergency in the capital Monday and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address a surge of violence, amid widespread outcry a day after the killing of a popular singer. President Dina Boluarte's government published a decree saying that the state of emergency will last 30 days, and authorities will restrict some rights, including the freedom of assembly and movement. That means the police and the army would be able to detain people without a judicial order. Peru has seen an increase of killings, violent extortion and attacks on public places in recent months. Police reported 459 killings from Jan. 1 to March 16, and 1,909 extortion reports in January alone. But outrage crested after the killing Sunday of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia 10. In Congress, opposition lawmakers requested a vote of no confidence against Interior Minister Juan José Santiváñez for what they say is a lack of a plan to fight rising violence. The vote is expected to be discussed in the Congress' plenary later this week. Flores was shot to death early Sunday when assailants attacked the bus he and bandmates were traveling after a concert in Lima. Cumbia is a Latin music style that people dance to the rhythm of drums, maracas and other instruments. The attack against the popular singer was not the only violent event over the weekend. On Saturday, an object exploded at a restaurant in the capital, injuring at least 11 people. Boluarte's government previously decreed a state of emergency in an attempt to stem the violence between September and December.
