Category Archives: Peru

Former CIA officer sentenced to 30 years for sexually assaulting scores of women

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Brian Jeffrey Raymond of California was found guilty of drugging and raping women in his government apartments

A former CIA officer who drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced.

Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 48, of La Mesa, California, drugged more than two dozen women and performed nonconsensual sexual acts or made sexual contact with at least 10 women, the justice department said in a press release.

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‘Transformative, for better and for worse’: what’s the legacy of Peru’s Alberto Fujimori

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Despite his convictions for corruption and human rights abuses, many see the president who has died at 86 as the country’s greatest leader

At 11.45 on Thursday morning, six white-gloved pallbearers carried a coffin holding the body of the most divisive, beloved and reviled Peruvian politician of the last four decades. They passed the mourners, the cameras and the flag-topped lances of the Húsares de Junín cavalry regiment, and set it down in the hall of Lima’s brutalist culture ministry.

Behind the coffin, holding hands and dressed in black under a pale but warm spring sky, came its occupant’s eldest daughter and youngest son. A crowd of ministers, political allies and military top brass awaited them at the ministry.

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Peru declares three days of mourning after death of ex-president Alberto Fujimori

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Decision to honour authoritarian leader jailed for corruption and human rights abuses sparks mixed reactions

Peru has declared three days of national mourning after the death of its former strongman leader Alberto Fujimori, who died on Wednesday aged 86 and was the only Peruvian president to have been convicted and jailed for human rights crimes.

The government of Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, also decreed that flags be flown at half-mast in public and military buildings as Fujimori, who governed Peru throughout the 1990s, lies in state in the Museum of the Nation until the burial on Saturday.

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Two loggers shot dead with arrows in clash with Indigenous group in Peruvian Amazon

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Two more people missing and one injured after attack by ‘uncontacted’ Mashco Piro in rainforest

At least two loggers have been shot dead with arrows, one has been injured and two more are missing after a confrontation with members of the “uncontacted” Mashco Piro people in the Peruvian Amazon, according to Indigenous activists who have criticised the government for failing to formally recognise and protect all of the isolated people’s territory.

The deadly attack, which occurred last Thursday but was made known only this week, took place a day before the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) suspended for eight months the sustainability certification of a logging company that campaigners have accused of encroaching on the fiercely territorial Indigenous group’s ancestral land.

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Could a £2-a-day basic income be the key to protecting rainforests?

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Pilot scheme in Amazon communities of central Peru aims to help people choose a more sustainable way of living

“At the beginning, there was a lot of fear and disbelief,” said Ketty Marcelo. “There was a perception from the communities that this was another scam, that it was only looking to steal information or our integrity.”

Indigenous communities in the Amazon have grown weary of people coming in from outside with plans that could mean them losing their land or way of life. When a team from Cool Earth, a climate action NGO, came to the Amazon communities of central Peru in October 2022, local people were hesitant. “These fears caused some families not to participate,” Marcelo said. “And we, as an organisation, were afraid this would be another project that would seek to impose activities without respecting the autonomy of the communities.”

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Marina Hyde on the ‘brave’ inciters of Britain’s race riots; lightning struck my plane and I plunged 3,000m; the delights of the dead hang – podcast

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Where are you Tommy and Elon? Marina Hyde finds that those provoking the race riots are far, far away; the dead hang delight – how this quick, surprisingly simple exercise can change your life; and ‘A bolt of lightning struck my plane’ – one woman’s incredible story of survival

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Outbreak of Oropouche virus in Brazil should be a ‘wake-up call’, say experts

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The disease, spread by midges and mosquitoes, has been linked to two deaths as cases surge in previously unaffected areas

The deaths of two young women, miscarriages and birth defects in Brazil have been linked to Oropouche virus, a little-known disease spread by midges and mosquitoes.

A surge in cases has been recorded in the country this year – 7,284, up from 832 in 2023. Many have been recorded in areas that have not previously seen the virus.

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Crisis at Tres Fronteras: how criminal syndicates threaten Amazon’s future

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At the lawless triple border between Brazil, Colombia and Peru, drug trafficking, illegal logging and gangs jeopardise the ecological and social fabric of the rainforest

The area of the Amazon where Brazil, Colombia, and Peru meet – referred to as Tres Fronteras (triple frontier) – brims with wildlife and natural resources. It is also a hotbed of illicit activity. Criminal groups are clearing the forest to plant coca and erect laboratories to turn the crop into cocaine. In the process of making coca paste, these labs discharge chemical waste – including acetone, gasoline and sulphuric acid – into rivers and soil.

Increasingly, these outfits are branching into illegal logging, gold dredging and fishing, in part because these activities allow them to launder money made from drug trafficking. These activities compound the environmental harm the groups are inflicting.

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Uncontacted tribe seen in Peruvian Amazon where loggers are active

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Mashco Piro sighted coming out of rainforest more frequently, apparently moving away from loggers

Rare images of the Mashco Piro, an uncontacted Indigenous tribe in the remote Peruvian Amazon, have been released by Survival International, showing dozens of the people on the banks of a river close to where logging companies have concessions.

The reclusive tribe has been sighted coming out of the rainforest more frequently in recent weeks in search of food, apparently moving away from the growing presence of loggers, said the local Indigenous rights group Fenamad.

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US mountaineer buried by avalanche 22 years ago found preserved in ice, police say

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William Stampfl was trying to climb Mount Huascarán in 2002 with two friends, one who was found and one who is still missing

Police have found the well-preserved body of an American mountaineer who was buried by an avalanche 22 years ago as he tried to climb one of the highest peaks in the Andes.

Police in the Ancash region found the body of William Stampfl on Friday near a camp 5,200 meters (17,060 feet) above sea level. The 58-year-old Stampfl had been trying to climb the 6,768-meter Mount Huascarán.

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Peruvian soldiers found guilty of rapes committed during civil war in historic verdict

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‘Landmark’ case is first to deal with use of sexual violence in state’s conflict with Shining Path rebels four decades ago

Ten soldiers have been found guilty at a court in Lima of crimes against humanity for rapes committed four decades ago during Peru’s civil war.

In what is being hailed as a landmark verdict, a panel of three judges on Wednesday said the systematic use of rape by soldiers in the Manta y Vilca case – named after the communities where the abuses took place – qualified as a crime against humanity.

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Peruvian reporter is target of smear campaign after taking on political elite

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Gustavo Gorriti, who has long exposed corruption, is the target of a criminal investigation campaigners call ‘politically motivated’

For more than four decades, Gustavo Gorriti has been a thorn in the side of corrupt elites, relentlessly uncovering government wrongdoing in Latin America – most recently exposing an unprecedented level of graft in Operation Car Wash, the continent-wide scandal that has ensnared nearly every elected Peruvian president of this century.

Gorriti made his name reporting the bloody rise of the Mao-inspired Shining Path. He was kidnapped by military intelligence agents during Alberto Fujimori’s 1992 power grab after unmasking his shadowy spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos.

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Brother and lawyer of Peru president held as corruption inquiry widens

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Dina Boluarte, caught up in ‘Rolexgate scandal’, denies accepting watches in exchange for favours amid police raids on key allies

Police in Peru have detained the brother and the lawyer of the country’s embattled president, Dina Boluarte, as part of a widening corruption inquiry, weeks after a similar raid on the Peruvian leader’s home.

Boluarte’s brother Nicanor and her lawyer Mateo Castañeda were placed under preliminary detention on Friday, accused of influence trafficking and belonging to a criminal organisation. Six other people were also detained.

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Peru’s embattled president dismisses ‘Rolexgate’ investigation as a ‘smoke-screen’

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Dina Boluarte has denied wrongdoing after being accused of illicit enrichment in relation to her use of at least three Rolex watches and designer jewellery

Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, has dismissed an investigation into her use of luxury watches as a “smoke-screen”, denying wrongdoing and saying that the items had been loaned to her, though she admitted to journalists that it was a “mistake” to have accepted them.

Earlier on Friday she faced closed-door questioning by prosecutors which lasted nearly five hours, amid allegations of illicit enrichment linked to her use of at least three Rolex watches and designer jewellery that appeared inconsistent with her modest monthly presidential salary of about £3,320 ($4,200).

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Peru president Dina Boluarte under pressure amid ‘Rolexgate’ scandal

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President under investigation over allegedly owning jewellery worth $500,000 despite earning a monthly salary of $3,320

Peru’s first female president, Dina Boluarte, is embroiled in a scandal over her alleged possession of a collection of Rolex watches and luxury jewellery that has put her at the centre of a corruption investigation.

The unpopular leader shook up her cabinet on Monday, swearing in six new ministers, after a rash of resignations following reports that she owned jewellery worth £400,000 ($502,700) despite earning a monthly presidential salary of around $3,320.

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Home of Peru’s president raided in search of luxury watches

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The government criticised the move, with the country’s prime minister calling it ‘disproportionate and unconstitutional’

Peru’s government on Saturday criticised the raid on the home of its president, Dina Boluarte, as part of inquiries into possible illicit enrichment and failure to declare ownership of luxury watches as “disproportionate and unconstitutional”.

Police broke down the door of Boluarte’s residence early on Saturday morning, television images showed, apparently after calls by officials to allow them access to search for evidence went unanswered.

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Scientists find skull of enormous ancient dolphin in Amazon

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Fossil of giant river dolphin found in Peru, whose closest living relation is in South Asia, gives clues to future extinction threats

Scientists have discovered the fossilised skull of a giant river dolphin, from a species thought to have fled the ocean and sought refuge in Peru’s Amazonian rivers 16m years ago. The extinct species would have measured up to 3.5 metres long, making it the largest river dolphin ever found.

The discovery of this new species, Pebanista yacuruna, highlights the looming risks to the world’s remaining river dolphins, all of which face similar extinction threats in the next 20 to 40 years, according to the lead author of new research published in Science Advances today. Aldo Benites-Palomino said it belonged to the Platanistoidea family of dolphins commonly found in oceans between 24m and 16m years ago.

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Machu Picchu train line reopens after protesters strike deal to readmit tourists

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Access to Incan site in Peruvian Andes restored after dispute over new electronic rail ticketing system

Peruvian authorities have reopened the train route to Machu Picchu, after an agreement was struck to end more than a week of protests that had blocked access to the famed Incan site and stranded tourists.

PeruRail said in a statement a partial service had restarted on Wednesday and that a regular service would return on Thursday from the city of Cusco to Aguas Calientes, a town near the archaeological site.

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Machu Picchu tourists stranded as protesters block trains to site

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Train services suspended due to safety concerns as people demonstrate against Peru’s consolidation of ticket sales

Protesters in Peru are blocking access to Machu Picchu, leaving some tourists stranded amid local anger over a new ticketing system halting rail transport to one of South America’s most popular heritage sites.

Train services to the ancient ruins high up in the Andes have been suspended since Saturday due to safety concerns over demonstrators blocking the railway line. Travel links were still not reopened on Monday, two tour operators told Reuters.

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Jack Russell terrier who loves to surf makes a splash on beaches of Peru

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Four-year-old dog named Efruz ‘loves the sea’, according to his owner, and often perches on a surfboard to ride waves

Clad in a yellow vest, little Efruz balances himself on the front of the surfboard as waves foam around him and his companion as they skim over the Pacific waters off Peru.

Efruz is a four-year-old Jack Russell terrier and he is a common sight these hot days of the southern hemisphere summer.

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