Despite questions about his management in the face of the wave of citizen insecurity that led to a National Strike this October 23 and a silence after the arbitrary arrest of Iván Quispe Palomino, the minister Juan José Santiváñez continues to defend his portfolio’s work against crime and insists that the results obtained under the state of emergency are “absolutely positive.”
“The results say it and speak for themselves. The results we have are absolutely positive. So far in the state of emergency we have more than 10,570 operations that have had results,” said the head of the Ministry during the last press conference after finishing the Council of Ministers. However, he questioned forcefully when he was consulted about the results of the state of emergency: “If you think that’s not positive, then you don’t have the right numbers.“, he refuted the journalist who asked him the question.
Finally, when he was mentioned about the 20 people who have lost their lives during states of emergency, Santiváñez minimized the impact of these deaths when comparing them with other countries in the region. “In Ecuador there are 80 deaths, in Chile more than 120“he said, arguing that international and transnational crime has a much greater effect on other nations. Despite his attempt to relativize the seriousness of the situation, the death toll in Peru makes 2024 the most violent year with a record of homicides, generating alert about the actions that the State is taking in the face of persistent insecurity under its management.
Víctor Zanabria defends Santiváñez and does not recognize error in the arrest of Iván Quispe Palomino: It was not our fault
In an interview with RPP, the PNP commander general, Víctor Zanabria, offered his version of the error in the arrest of Iván Quispe Palominowrongly identified as a high command of the remnants of the Shining Path. Zanabria rejected the responsibility of the Police and the Minister of the Interior, Juan José Santiváñez, explaining that the arrest warrants had been issued years ago under that name. He stated that the Police acted in accordance with established legal procedures, which led to the ‘brief’ imprisonment of Quispe Palomino.
Zanabria also clarified that The arrest occurred as part of the ‘Genesis’ operationwhich was carried out in various parts of Lima under the state of emergency. He explained that the three requests linked to the capture were in the name of Quispe Palomino and attributed the error to poor management of judicial information since 2013. Despite the confusion, he insisted that the Police followed the protocols correctly.
