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Lima transport leader demands action against extortion after 200 attacks, 152 deaths
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Energy & Infrastructure

Lima transport leader demands action against extortion after 200 attacks, 152 deaths

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Transport operators in southern Lima are demanding urgent action against extortion following over 200 attacks and 152 deaths since August 2024.
  • The attacks, often carried out by individuals on motorcycles or as fake passengers, have resulted in the deaths of 15 passengers and severe injuries to others, including a driver shot multiple times.
  • A leader in the sector highlighted the ineffectiveness of current measures, with companies continuing to pay extortion to multiple criminal groups, and attributed the lack of a consistent policy to political instability and frequent changes in the Ministry of the Interior.

Transport leaders in southern Lima are urgently calling for decisive action against rampant extortion, a crisis that has claimed over 200 lives and injured many since August 2024. Julio Bretoneche, a representative for public transport companies in the southern part of Peru's capital, stated that existing measures have failed to provide security to the sector.

Bretoneche described the attacks as "terrifying," noting that victims include 15 passengers and a driver who is still fighting for his life after being shot five times nearly six months ago. He explained that attacks are typically carried out by assailants on motorcycles or by fake passengers who strike inside the bus.

The figures are terrifying.

— Julio BretonecheDescribing the impact of extortion and attacks on the transport sector.

The leader criticized the ongoing extortion, stating that despite arrests of criminal groups, "all companies continue to pay extortion, not just to one group, many pay three, four, and some pay even more." He pointed to political instability, citing 17 ministers of the Interior since 2021, as a significant factor hindering a consistent policy against crime.

Bretoneche appealed to the president-elect, Keiko Fujimori, for attention to this critical issue and for political stability over the next five years. His plea comes as a bus carrying the musical group 'Las Estrellas de la Cumbia' was attacked early Sunday morning, injuring three people, including the driver, while parked on the Panamericana Norte highway in Lima. The group had reportedly requested police protection nine months prior after facing extortion.

all companies continue to pay extortion, not just to one group, many pay three, four, and some pay even more.

— Julio BretonecheHighlighting the pervasive nature of extortion despite arrests.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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