This afternoon, the Second National Preparatory Investigation Court imposed 18 months of preventive detention against the ringleader of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), Victor Polay Campos. The measure is dictated within the framework of the process for the “Las Gardenias” case and other hate crimes committed against the LGTBIQ+ community in the San Martín region, under the alleged “social cleansing” policy of the terrorist organization.
Judge Lolo Fernando Valdez Pimentel declared the prosecutor’s request founded, arguing that there are serious and well-founded elements of conviction that link Polay Campos to the crimes of murder and aggravated terrorism. This decision is crucial given that the terrorist leader was scheduled to be released from prison on January 3, 2026, after serving a 35-year sentence.
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The fiscal thesis and the Las Gardenias case
During the hearing, the Public Ministry maintained that the MRTA, under the leadership of Polay Campos (alias “Comrade Rolando”), implemented political guidelines aimed at the elimination of groups that they called “social scourges”, including homosexuals, sex workers and common criminals, with the aim of building the “new man.”
Among the alleged events, the massacre that occurred on May 31, 1989 at the “Las Gardenias” bar in Tarapoto stands out. According to the investigation, an MRTA commando entered the premises, forcibly removed eight citizens—including Max Pérez Velásquez and César Marcelino Carbajal Aliaga—and executed them with firearms.
The Prosecutor’s Office also charged other selective murders, such as the kidnapping and death of Luis Alberto Pinchi Vásquez, known as “Fransua”, and Salomón Pérez Armas, alias “Pacharaco”, both killed for their sexual orientation in 1990 and 1992, respectively.
Defense arguments and judicial decision
Polay Campos’ defense rejected the accusations, alleging that the so-called “social cleansing” was never an official policy of the MRTA Central Committee and that the crimes were autonomous acts of middle managers. Likewise, they argued that the person under investigation has served almost 35 years in prison and has family roots through his brothers and his cohabitant.
However, Judge Valdez Pimentel dismissed these allegations, pointing out that, as the leader of a hierarchical organization, Polay Campos is responsible as the direct author for the dominance of the organization. The magistrate considered that there is an imminent risk of flight, given the history of his escape from prison in 1990 and the seriousness of the probable penalty (life imprisonment) as these are crimes against humanity, which cannot be prescribed.
With this resolution, Víctor Polay Campos will continue to be held at the Callao Naval Base while the oral trial stage for these new charges takes place.
