A total of 26 colonels They were promoted to the rank of general of the National Police: 24 Weapons and 2 Services. They will assume positions in the Police Command as of January 1, 2025.
The majority of those promoted come from administrative units, benefited by an express law of Congress, to the detriment of operational officers who fight crime in the streets every day.
The president Dina Boluarte and her Minister of the Interior, Juan Santiváñezwho publicly claim to take measures to reinforce actions to control the overflow of citizen insecurity, did not object to the controversial norm.
No other authority protested the obvious discrimination. But on social networks, National Police officers expressed their discomfort at the handling of the Congress and of Executive:
“Meritocracy has gone to waste,” “now it is better to serve at the desk than on the field” and “we are at war against crime, but they promote office workers, not warriors” are some of the expressions that circulate around Facebook, X, TikTok, among others.
They are not without reason
As La República anticipated would happen, one of the colonels who obtained the next higher rank of general, Gustavo Pareja García, is the father-in-law of the head of the Search Division of the General Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of the Interior (Digimin), commander PNP Ismael Arroyo Roca, known as the “eyes and ears” of the Minister of the Interior, Juan Santiváñez.
This newspaper published a photograph in which Santiváñez and Arroyo appear together, which proves the intimate closeness of both characters. And so it was, the father-in-law of Minister Santiváñez’s friend achieved the rank of general of the National Police.
The annoyance of the police officers is understandable because at first there was no vacancy for the father-in-law of Minister Santiváñez’s friend to be promoted. The Government agreed to increase one more position so that he could obtain the rank of general. Incredible. This happened in the government of Pedro Castillo.
The father-in-law of Minister Santivañez’s friend, Gustavo Pareja García, is head of the Infrastructure Division of the Administration Directorate of the National Police, a desk job. As indicated, at the beginning there was no place for him.
The “finger” policy
However, the Selective Board of the National Police, chaired by the general commander of the PNP, Víctor Zanabria Anguloexpanded a vacancy with its own name, because Pareja was third on the merit list.
If this is not called promotion manipulation, what other name could it have?
On Friday night, and when a qualifying soccer match was being played between Peru and Chile, the list with the names and surnames of the 26 promoted colonels was confirmed.
The supreme resolutions bear the signature of the president Dina Boluarte and the Minister of the Interior, Juan Santiváñez.
Along with Gustavo Pareja, PNP colonels Leiby Huamán Daza and Edwin Molina Zambrano, from the class of 1989, were promoted. The first is police attaché in Brazil and the second head of Public Order and Security of the Tacna Police Region.
The colonels who achieved the rank of general according to the merit table are:
The head of the Missing Persons Search Division, Glen García Chávez; the head of the Division of the Cusco Macro Police Region, Edson Cerrón Lazo; and the head of the Center 1 Police Division of the Lima Police Region, Humberto Alvarado López (class of 1990).
Also appearing are the police attaché in Argentina, Ely Vargas Roca; the head of the Chemical Supplies Division of the Anti-Drug Directorate, Luis Bolaños Melgarejo; the head of the PNP Image Office, Orlando Sánchez Ramírez; and the head of the Dirandro Illicit Drug Trafficking Investigation Division, Arturo Valverde Inga (class of 1991).
He is followed by the police attaché in El Salvador, Jorge Guardia Riveros; the secretary of the Madre de Dios Police Region, Antonio Loreño Beltran; the police attaché in France, Fernando Mego Avellaneda; the head of Human Resources of the Environment Directorate of the PNP, Elíseo Lara Bendezú; and the head of the Derivative Investigations Division of the Public Ministry, Enrique Samané Sánchez (class of 1992).
Added to these are the pilot and head of the Police Aviation executing unit, Olger Aguilar Chappa; the head of Logistics of the PNP, Francisco Ninalaya Martínez; and the head of the Special Operations Division of the Directorate Against Terrorism (Dircote), Carlos Zapata Fernández (class of 1993).
Furthermore, the police attaché in the United States, Eduan Diaz Diaz; the head of the Department of Management and Educational Services of the PNP Welfare Directorate, Michael Flores Álamo; the head of Monitoring and Evaluation of Investigations of the General Inspectorate of the PNP, Miguel Carranza Coronel; and Carlos Roque Palomino, member of the Cabinet of Advisors of the Ministry of the Interior of the (class of 1994). That is, from Santiváñez’s office.
Police sources from this newspaper recognized Colonel Miguel Carranza as one of the officers who from the Inspectorate opened unfounded investigations against the former head of the High Complexity Crime Investigation Division (Diviac), Colonel Harvey Colchado Huamaníamong other officers from the same unit.
It was by order of Minister Santiváñezin retaliation for having participated in the arrest of the head of state’s brother, Nicanor Boluarte, and for having intervened in the raid on the president Dina Boluarte. So the promotion is a “prize” for Colonel Carranza.
The list of promoted members is completed by the pilot and director of the Continuing School of the National Vocational Training School of the PNP, Víctor Ascue Tello; the head of Intelligence of the Intelligence Division of the PNP Anti-Corruption Investigation Directorate, Luis Pacheco Cornejo; and the head of the North Police Division 1 of the Seventh Lima Police Region, Roberto Mercado Calderon de la (class of 1995).
Among the 26 colonels who were promoted to general, there are 12 administrative ones, 7 operatives, 5 pilots from the Police Aviation and 2 services (doctor and lawyer).
That is to say, practically, 50% of those promoted to the rank of general are administrative. All thanks to Congress that passed a disastrous law that harms operational officers. A rule that received the approval of the Government Palace.
Exploded view
Promoted to lieutenant general of the PNP
● Head of the Operations Command, PNP General Carlos Céspedes Muñoz.
● Head of the National Directorate of Criminal Investigation, PNP General Zenón Loayza Díaz.
● Head of the Police Aviation, PNP General Fredy López Mendoza.
● Head of the PNP Criminalistics Directorate, PNP General Luis Gamarra Chávarry
● Head of the Police Operations Directorate, PNP General Iván Lizzetti Salazar.
Generals Luis Cacho and Luis Lazo were excluded from the original list, so that generals Iván Lizzetti and Luis Gamarra Chávarry, who occupied sixth and seventh place in the merit table, respectively, were promoted.
