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The Extraordinary Criminal History of Peru’s Most-Wanted ‘Jhonsson Pulpo’
🇵🇪 Peru /Crime & Justice

The Extraordinary Criminal History of Peru’s Most-Wanted ‘Jhonsson Pulpo’

From La República · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Peruvian authorities transferred Jhonsson Smith Cruz Torres from Bolivia after his capture with another man in La Paz.
  • Cruz Torres leads Los Pulpos de Cruz Blanca and has a life sentence for an aggravated robbery that resulted in a businesswoman’s death.
  • Police accuse him of involvement in about 100 homicides, as well as kidnappings and extortion in the La Libertad region.

Jhonsson Smith Cruz Torres, one of Peru’s most-wanted fugitives, is back on Peruvian soil after being captured in La Paz, Bolivia. Authorities detained him alongside 23-year-old Gabriel Alexander Mendocilla Gómez. Cruz Torres had US$10,000, 70,000 Chilean pesos and 700 Bolivianos, evidence that he had recently been moving between Chile and Bolivia, according to the account.

Known as “Jhonsson Pulpo,” Cruz Torres heads Los Pulpos de Cruz Blanca, described as a transnational criminal organization. He faces a life sentence imposed by a specialized criminal court in Trujillo for aggravated robbery and the killing of a businesswoman in March 2020. Police, however, attribute roughly 100 homicides to him.

The government’s rewards commission added him to Peru’s most-wanted list on August 5, 2022. The reward for information leading to his capture rose from 75,000 soles to 500,000 soles. His alleged criminal record also includes kidnappings and extortion, particularly in La Libertad, where he was born and where authorities say he comes from a criminal dynasty operating for more than three decades.

Police identify him as the leader of kidnappings involving Santos Guillermo Sánchez Vera, Emilio Julca Huamán, Kristell Cotrina Cruz and Robert Quezada Crisólogo, among others. They also discovered that Cruz Torres registered a death certificate with Reniec on August 4, 2020, despite later appearing in criminal investigations.

The case is linked to an intercepted 2024 conversation between Cruz Torres and Josué Oliver Blas Lezama, known as “Gato Cote.” Blas Lezama led La Gran Alianza until he was killed in Colombia. Authorities said the conversation, recorded after the kidnapping of informal miner Emilio Julca Huamán in Huamachuco, offered details about ties between criminal organizations involved in illegal mining and other serious offenses. In the exchange, Blas Lezama sought to ease tensions, telling Cruz Torres, “I have no problem with you.”

I have no problem with you.

— Josué Oliver Blas Lezama, known as Gato CoteThe statement came during an intercepted conversation with Jhonsson Cruz Torres after a kidnapping, as Blas Lezama sought to ease tensions between their organizations.
About this summary

Originally published by La República in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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