Peru

The Executive Branch is the institution with the highest number of cases against the press in the last semester. Verbal and discursive confrontations of President Dina Boluarte stand out. Seven cases linked to the Executive have the president as the protagonist. Meanwhile, she continues to be unaccountable to the public through the press. The Government opted to submit the signals of TV Peru and Radio Nacional under the National Institute of Radio and Television.

In October, during a public presentation, President Boluarte used the term "image terrorism" to refer to information about her published by the press. Shortly afterward, parliamentarian Waldemar Cerrón, whose fugitive brother Vladimir Cerrón is the subject of journalistic investigations, assured that there is "press terrorism," while Cabinet chief Gustavo Adrianzén affirmed: "We cannot deny that false news is spread [that] not only offends but has [sic] a purpose: [...] to generate chaos and destabilization".

After 106 days without a press conference, President Boluarte held a restricted press conference. Only a few media outlets were allowed in. Boluarte did not answer all questions.

In November, consulted on Canal N about President Boluarte's silences, the Minister of Transportation and Communications, Raul Perez Reyes, criticized the press for asking questions about the "cofre" cases and Boluarte's surgeries. "If the agenda is going to be, every time we speak, to 'farandulize' questions to the president, we stop being in the world of politics, and we move to the world of show business, of anecdote."

In December, in a message to the nation, President Boluarte described the investigations and revelations of the media and journalists about her and her Government as "media legends." She pointed out that she did not declare to the press to protect her privacy, even though the questions she was asked were related to government matters.

In January, Boluarte eliminated by decree the two central corporate governance bodies of the Instituto Nacional de Radio y Televisión del Perú (IRTP), the parent company of TVPerú and Radio Nacional. The board of directors and the executive presidency disappeared in the new regulations.

The Ministry of Culture rejected the play María Maricón, where a man represents the Virgin because it "attempts against the Catholic faith." The play was produced by performing arts students of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP). It was also rejected by the political party Renovación Popular, presided over by the mayor of Lima, and by the university itself.

In February, several journalists were restricted from covering the inauguration of a school during an official visit of President Boluarte to Moquegua. Reporters were confined to a limited space and could not ask questions.

In March, Boluarte accused the media of personal and "permanent political harassment." The president said the Prosecutor's Office "plays on the wall with this bad press to carry out a soft coup d'état."

The Minister of the Interior, Juan José Santiváñez, obtained access to a report of the Sunday program Cuarto Poder of América Televisión before it was broadcast. He refused to say how it came into his hands.

The Women's Emergency Center, attached to the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations, denounced journalist Gustavo Gorriti before the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for Violence Against Women for "psychological violence against President Dina Boluarte". He denounced that the journalist used denigrating and offensive expressions against the president. After Boluarte publicly criticized him, Gorritti expressed in IDL-Reporteros: "There is no plastic surgeon that fixes the face of moral ruin" about the surgeries that Boluarte had performed on her face during 2023.

Unlike other periods, the Legislative Power approved a new NGO law, extended prison sentences for defamation and slander, and reduced the time for publication of rectifications in the media to a minimum.

In January, Congressman Alejandro Soto announced that he would sue journalist Bruno Amoretti of the weekly Hildebrandt en sus trece for the crime of "generic falsehood" for revealing WhatsApp conversations that were allegedly false. The journalist had published an investigation on an alleged prostitution network in Congress.

In February, Perú Libre congresswoman María Agüero presented a bill that supposedly advocates for media transparency. It requires the media to submit a report on external revenues to the Executive Branch, from the precise amount to the specific financing terms, including media indicators such as circulation, rating, and reach. Failure to comply with the requirement could result in the media being shut down.

In March, Congress approved a law allowing NGOs to be accused of "political activism" or receiving funds from "foreign agents." The media maintains alliances with NGOs; some receive economic funds for journalistic projects and activities that strengthen freedom of expression.

Congress approved in the first vote a bill that seeks to modify the Penal Code to increase the penalties for defamation and slander, increasing the penalty to up to five years of imprisonment, depending on the case. Another bill seeks to unjustifiably reduce to only one day the time to attend to rectification requests from the seven days provided for in the current law.

Regarding aggressions by the Public Prosecutor's Office, the tendency to open investigations against journalists who investigate and point out criminals and public officials is reinforced.

On a positive note, several investigations began into individuals who harassed journalists.

The Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation into alleged crimes of harassment and coercion committed by members of radical groups calling themselves "La Resistencia," "Los Combatientes," and "Los Patriotas," who in recent years have harassed, persecuted, and verbally attacked journalists such as Rosa María Palacios, Gustavo Gorriti and Paola Ugaz, as well as public officials and human rights defenders.

The Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation against journalists Rosana Cueva, journalistic director of América Televisión and Canal N, Eduardo Quispe and Beto Ortiz, for illegal trafficking of personal data and criminal organization, following a complaint filed by Zamir Villaverde, who served prison time for assault and is now accused by the Public Prosecutor's Office of being an operator of alleged acts of corruption that occurred during the Government of Pedro Castillo.

In February, senior prosecutor Rafael Vela Barba, coordinator of the Special Team for Money Laundering Crimes, denounced for harassment and coercion journalist Karina Aliaga Neyra of the program Contracorriente of Willax. In a recent report, Aliaga investigated an alleged incompatibility between the house where prosecutor Vela lives and his income and bank loans.

Other relevant events during this period:

During the transport strikes and protests in October, four journalists were attacked by police. Víctor Castillo (América TV), Noelia Vallvé (Wayka), Juan Mandamiento (independent), and Enzo Vidal (Panamericana) were physically attacked—with shoves, elbows, and batons—in different areas of Lima by officers of the Peruvian National Police.

Journalist José Miguel Hidalgo, from the program Cuarto Poder (América Televisión), received death threats after a report on Ciro Castillo, governor of Callao, and his son. In a WhatsApp video, a man armed with a gun threatens him and demands that he not show "the people of Callao" because, otherwise, he will "blow out all his brains."

Sinadef case: At the end of October, the National Death System (Sinadef) registry had not been updated in the previous two weeks, La República reported. On October 10, the last update date, Sinadef learned that the number of homicides in Peru during 2024—1,493—had exceeded the number for all of 2023. Sinadef is typically updated daily.

Independent journalists and journalists from various media outlets were prevented from walking through the streets of downtown Lima during the protests that erupted in the context of APEC. Journalists from Wayka, as well as independent journalists such as Adrián Sarría and Jacqueline Fowks, were cornered by National Police officers. Protesters harassed reporter Luis Santos of Panamericana Televisión.

Bishop Ciro Quispe López of the Territorial Prelature of Juli in Puno accused journalist Kevin Moncada of the newspaper Sin Fronteras of "threats, harassment, and coercion." The journalist had reported on alleged irregularities by Quispe. Pope Francis sent a delegate to investigate the bishop's actions.

The Second Provincial Corporate Prosecutor's Office charged journalist Pedro Salinas with being an accomplice to aggravate collusion and incompatible negotiation crimes. The complaint is based on a crisis management consultancy Salinas provided in 2017 through Chirinos & Salinas Asociados to the then Attorney General Pedro Sánchez. It was filed by a member of the Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana (Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana), a religious group that Salinas has investigated for years for sexual and psychological abuse.

In December, the Lambayeque-based newspaper Expresión received an order from Judge Luzzetty Elizabeth García Acuña of the Second Specialized Transitional Labor Court of Chiclayo, ordering it to reveal its sources. The judge demands that the outlet "submit a report on the news appearing in your newspaper and provide the names of the sources of said information." Failure to comply, the order stated, would result in an investigation into the outlet for disobedience of authority. After complaints and criticism, García Acuña noted that her request was a mistake.

Businessman Christian Pinasco Montenegro sent four notarized letters to journalists from El Foco, threatening them with lawsuits for defamation, slander, and criminal conspiracy. Pinasco demanded a correction to the report "The Loreto Cartel of Disinformation" about the existence of Indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact, which he denies.

In January, journalist Gastón Medina was shot dead in the Ica region. The owner and director of Cadena Sur TV, he had recently denounced irregularities in the Ica Regional Government and the municipality, as well as the activity of extortionists. Last year, the headquarters of Cadena Sur TV was attacked with explosives.

In February, Juan Peña, a lawyer for former Minister of Development and Social Inclusion Julio Demartini, filed a complaint against journalists Christopher Acosta and Pedro Tenorio of the Latina channel for allegedly "improperly revealing their identity" related to the Qali Warma scandal, a government program that provided spoiled food to children and which, according to the channel's revelations, is implicated in a corruption network.

Journalist Clara Elvira Ospina of Epicentro TV reported a cyberattack against her. Ospina stated that she has been systematically insulted with terms such as "whore," "hitwoman," and "terrorist," among many other insults. The journalist believes that behind these insults, spread through anonymous social media profiles, "there are public officials."

In February, several public figures indicated that the newspaper El Comercio received funding from USAID, which would compromise its editorial line. The newspaper responded that it did not receive direct funding. He noted that the cost of some of his initiatives, such as the workshops before the Neighborhood Hearings, was covered by organizations such as IDEA International, which has managed USAID-funded projects. El Comercio noted that in every article published, he informed his readers of the relationship with IDEA.

The mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, threatened to sue journalist Nicolás Lúcar of Radio Exitosa for aggravated defamation after the latter released official documents showing that the official when he was a Lima council member in 2009, voted in favor of granting toll concessions to the Brazilian company OAS, involved in the Lava Jato case. The mayor also reported Exitosa to the Minister of Transport and Communications, Raúl Pérez Reyes, for "violations" of the Radio and Television Law. Previously, host Jaqueline García Rodríguez had told the mayor that if a hitman attempted to kill her, he would be responsible.

The judiciary sentenced Benjamín Vidal Gil, a member of the radical civil group "Los Insurgentes," for aggravated defamation against journalist Gustavo Gorriti, director of IDL-Reporteros, who filed a complaint. Vidal had accused Gorriti a year ago of being a "terrorist, friend of terrorists, and contractor of terrorists." The convicted man must comply with a series of rules of conduct and pay civil damages of approximately US$6,500. "Los Insurgentes" are known for harassing journalists and public officials.

In March, priest Jaime Baertl, linked to the investigated religious group Sodalicio de Vida Cristiana, threatened journalist Paola Ugaz with going to court for alleged "false accusations" and "defamation" for articles published in La República.

In April, the mayor of Lima, Rafael López Aliaga, lashed out against television media at a public event: "Do you know that here there is no television channel? There's no RPP, no Canal N, no Canal 4, Canal 5, Canal 9. Isn't this news? This is what I've taken away from them: this is 'mermelada' (a term used to denote favoritism or under-the-table deals)," referring to an alleged cancellation of funding that these media outlets supposedly received from the Municipality of Lima.

In the same month, journalist Analí Andrade from Radio Titanka in Andahuaylas reported that relatives of the provincial mayor, Abel Serna Herrera, attempted to assault and threaten her after entering the radio station's premises.