You say in your book that criminal organizations dedicated to extortion exercise territorial control in some parts of the country. If this is so, today there are candidates who have to coordinate with these gangs to carry out their electoral campaign?
Of course. Not just today, several years ago. In Peru, suddenly not in Metropolitan Lima, but in the country there are areas where politicians have to coordinate to campaign and where the criminal actors themselves have nominated. Or people who have had a history of extortion or branding, are or have been candidates. This is not a new thing.
And how far can you go? Can a criminal gang decide who or does not campaign in a certain territory?
Yes. They are deciding today, who campaigns or not.
And this occurs especially in the north of the country.
Yes, in the north. No, it is not at the national level. For the people of Lima it is new, because what happened with terrorism has happened. Once Lima hits, and now there are stickers on Javier Prado Avenue and Arequipa Avenue, they just feel that there is a problem. But this is not new. The same thing happened with terrorism. While in Ayacucho, Lima did not worry much.
Now, the thickest figure you give in the book is that extortion has grown by 541% from 2021 to 2025. What caused this phenomenon?
Although there are two variables there. The first is that these are the complaints, which represent only a part of what is out there, because there are those who do not report. The real, honest figure must be much higher. A second thing is that now there are fewer and fewer racketeers, cogoteros. What happens is that crime has also changed and extortion is the pandemic of the post-pandemic. The increase in extortion is post COVID-19. And that has a logical explanation: extortion uses anonymity. What do I want to say? Suddenly, a woman who sells chicken broth in the market receives a message on her WhatsApp in which she is threatened. But the message that she receives is anonymous and they also send her a yape or plin number so that she can pay the extortionate amount. Throughout this process, the criminal does not expose himself. Then, following a person to assault them has costs in man hours. But sending an extortionate message to seven or eight people has much lower costs in time and higher efficiency. But why can that be done? Because extortion, thanks to the fact that it is protected by the anonymity that they give you chips that one can find like candy in Polvos Azules, in San Jacinto, in Las Malvinas, on Colonial Avenue, on Argentina Avenue, is easy. Therefore, one of the key variables to end this is to control this informal chip market.
I understand that every 23 minutes there is at least one person in Peru who receives an extortionate message
There are 72 complaints daily. If you do the calculation, there are 3 complaints every hour. But be careful, here again we are talking about those who report. It must be taken into account that many people do not report.
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I want to return to the facts that strengthen extortion. How much responsibility is there in the governments we have had?
There has been a benign view of the fight against crime, a kind of over-guarantees in the fight against this phenomenon and little understanding of what we face. For example, President Castillo and President Boluarte said in their speeches on July 28 that they dismantled 400 criminal organizations in their government, 280 criminal organizations. And the question is, if that number of organizations have been dismantled, how many still operate in Peru, because that is the key data. Another variable that must be taken into account is that there is now a greater flow of weapons. Before, few criminals had guns, but now anyone can get them.
The extortion began in Trujillo. His book says that initially there were gangs that stole cars and sold them as auto parts, but then the market became saturated and they had to change their field. That is to say, criminals also act with a business logic.
Well, in the book I say that they see themselves as crime entrepreneurs. So what they do is change the spin. Instead of stealing, they charge for protection. They say: I charge you to put a sticker on you and so that no one messes with you. That was the model. Today, you are a transporter who pays the Injertos del Cono Norte to put a sticker on you and protect you, but they don’t protect you because the other person extorts you.
I also understand that criminal organizations know a little about economic cycles, because they extort people at certain times of the year.
Rather, that is seen by items. For example, during the pandemic they dedicated themselves to extorting funeral homes, for obvious reasons. There is a variable that must be taken into account. Do not believe that the criminal actor is neophyte or ignorant. No, they are intelligent people. And now, for example, the number of lawyers linked to crime and accountants has increased. Because if a person has 30 or 40 million soles of illicit origin, they need to revert them to the system. And there is a participation of professional actors and companies.
Now, a debate in this electoral stage is the existence of pro-crime laws, which favor this type of crime. There are those who say that they do not exist, that they are part of a political narrative. And there are others who say that if they enter the government they will repeal them. You acknowledge its existence in the book. How would you define them?
No, what I’m saying is that the debate is poorly formulated. I have made them pro-crime so that we can all understand each other communicatively. It is difficult, Emilio, to take 10 laws and put them all equally. Look, for example, I believe that the Asset Forfeiture Law is very important. But the poor application of that law has led to this discussion. For example, that they take away the properties of the Jauría, the Injertos del Cono Norte, the Malditos de Bayóvar, it is logical, who is going to disagree. But how do you explain when asset forfeiture is used to take the bus away from a transportation company. That doesn’t seem logical. Forfeiture of domain appeared in Italian legislation to seize assets from Cosa Nostra. And you should think about that key, not wasting energy taking the car away from a company. But, for all of this that I tell you, should domain forfeiture be eliminated? No. So, the debate should have been done seriously.
Debate yes, but not elimination of laws against crime. That’s your point.
Let’s see, let’s say that I have a magic wand and with it the pro-crime laws that have already been passed are erased. Does that mean the crime ends? No, of course not. So those who criticize put too much faith in that. I do think that many of them should be eliminated and changed, I agree. But the difference between what I say and others is that there are those who take and pack everything. Both sides package the discussion and it is not packageable. Within each case, there are many things to look at. In reality, the debate goes beyond these types of laws. And I’m going to explain why. Take note of this figure: From 2020 to 2025 there were 85 thousand reports of extortion to the Police. From 2020 to 2025, 82 thousand in the Public Ministry. From 2020 to 2025 there were only 1,047 sentences for extortion in Peru. Among these sentences are acquittals and convictions. That is, what starts at 85 thousand only reaches 1.7. That is to say, there is impunity that exceeds 98% at the national level for extortion crimes.
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We were talking about the ease that criminal organizations have to be anonymous with the use of digital tools. These tools also help them normalize their presence in the community. I have seen that they have social networks, LinkedIn, they broadcast their crimes on TikTok.
I have said it many times, we are facing a mainstream crime. It is the need to show, to see oneself, to present oneself, to boast. In the book you can find that for 100 soles a criminal organization can send you a greeting for your birthday. But there is important reading here. Who is willing to pay for that merchandising? That is the internal world of each person. And crime is taking and gaining legitimacy in society.
Of course, a boy today can ask for the t-shirt or cap of a criminal organization.
Yes, it is the crime show, the mainstream. René Girard, the Franco-American philosopher, said that cultural products can speak about what a society is like. And that speaking Huevadas is one of the most watched programs in Peru says something about us. That Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori go to the second round of the elections says something about us. So what happens is not so surprising. Think about the success of Gerald Oropeza (sentenced for drug trafficking) as a tiktoker, Emilio. If you and I team up, and create a TikTok account to talk about crime, we won’t reach Oropeza’s likes.
Now, how do you see the electoral campaign? Is the issue of extortion being seriously discussed?
I believe that we are going to experience the most violent campaign in Republican history. For example, the most important political actors hold rallies behind closed doors, with their groups. They no longer go to large squares and are not exposed to the public as used to happen before. And I don’t think the issue is addressed seriously. Much of what is said is slogans, fireworks that seek the people’s vote. If we want to end extortion, let’s attack the chip market. If we want to put an end to extortion, let’s regulate the electronic wallets that are used to collect the quota. If we want to put an end to extortion, let’s regulate and put all our strength into containing explosives. But it is more practical to make a slogan that says “Death penalty,” which will not be applied. Or say, what do I know, that we are going to send all the extortionists to El Salvador, or to an island so that they can be there, piled up. And that’s not going to solve anything.
