From the main headquarters of the Public Ministrythe prosecutor of the nation, Delia Espinozawarned that the annual budget will suffer a new cut of S/145 million by 2026, which will imply the paralysis of Forensic Experts, the reduction of operations against organized crime and limitations in investigations of serious crimes such as illegal mining, cyber fraud and gender violence. According to the magistrate, this cut compromises the capacity of the Prosecutor’s Office to fulfill its constitutional role in the persecution of the crime.
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This adjustment adds to the deficit of more than S/81 million that the institution already faces in 2025, product of a previous cut of S/124 million. Espinoza said that with these financial restrictions, the work of specialized prosecutors and teams cannot be sustained, which will generate a direct impact on citizen security.
“To date, the Public Ministry has a deficit of at least 81 million soles that will affect, without a doubt, all tax subsystems and areas of support for fiscal work. Indispensable actions such as expert opinions, displacements to combat illegal mining, operations to fight against crime, money laundering, and illicit drug trafficking will have to reduce or in some cases Carry out (…) By 2025 we were cut by just over 123 million soles and by 2026 we want to reduce almost 145 million soles, “he said.
The Public Ministry’s budget has been decreasing since 2024 while crime grows in the country. The 2024 budget was S/3,044 million, which was reduced by 2025 in S/2,921 million. Meanwhile, that in the draft General Budget of the Republic of 2026 a budget for prosecutors of S/2,870 million is provided. The reduction becomes more evident in the operating expenses for the activities carried out by prosecutors to investigate the crimes that occur throughout the country.
In this way, in two years of the Government of Dina Boluarte and its allies of the Congress, the Prosecutor’s Office would see its decreased budget by up to 9% compared to 2024.
Espinoza said that the Executive had promised more resources to strengthen the fight against crime, but what has materialized are systematic reductions. In addition, he explained that this year’s budget execution, to date, reaches 60 %, and in 2024 reached 97.5 %, a situation that shows the limitations imposed from the government and the investment of the budget by the entity for actions against crime.
At the end of her message, the Prosecutor’s Office stressed that “Justice is not an expense, but an investment,” and warned that without an adequate budget the State loses the ability to face the criminal networks that operate throughout the country.
“Last year we achieved a budget execution of 97.5% and the date there is a budget execution of almost 60%. We reiterate the request of our prosecutors and other members of the Public Ministry. Justice is not an expense, it is an indispensable investment to strengthen our democracy. We want us to give us resources to be able to combat together as institutions the crime they suffer and live thousands of people,” he said.
Delia Espinoza responded to Eduardo Arana: “First you have to look in the mirror before talking about other institutions”
Days after her message to public opinion, the prosecutor of the nation, Delia Espinoza, rejected the versions of the Executive that question the budget execution of the Public Ministry. From Puno, he stressed that his management has reached an execution close to 97% and that the central problem is the deficit of S/81 million that has not yet been covered. As noted, this lack threatens the continuity of the basic functions of the institution during 2025.
Espinoza explained that the requested resources are intended for elementary expenses such as rentals, basic services, internet, surveillance and expert opinions, without which tax investigations would be paralyzed. The Prosecutor of the Nation recalled that it is not possible to divert funds from other items without incurring embezzlement, and said that a good part of the financial commitments inherited from 2024 condition the margin of action of the current management.
“We cannot take other budget items that are already committed because that is called embezzlement. We cannot stop paying other things already scheduled to assume these 80 million. Give them and I will prove it to the end of the year. We have already passed 60 % execution and we will reach the goal,” he said.
In addition, he questioned the narrative of the Executive who tries to install an image of inefficiency, noting that even ministries such as Justice and Economics have registered budget returns. For Delia Espinoza, these comparisons show that the Prosecutor’s Office has managed its resources more efficiently than other portfolios, which reinforces the need for additional funds to be assigned to guarantee their work against organized crime and corruption.
“The Lord, if he is prime minister, must know and if he asked well, but yesterday he has lacked the truth, he did not explain complete and has given the false impression that there would be no good management, detracting from this management. Mr. Arana, he is not mistaken, we are a good management,” he said.
