Capture of Jhonsson Pulpo in Bolivia deals blow to Los Pulpos de Trujillo
The leader of the criminal gang Los Pulpos de Trujillo was detained in Bolivia and will be extradited to Peru. He had a reward of half a million soles and faced a life sentence.
Jhonsson Pulpo detained in Bolivia after months of regional police coordination
Peru's Interior Minister César Astudillo announced on Wednesday, 1 September, the capture in Bolivia of Jhonsson Smit Cruz Torres, known as Jhonsson Pulpo, identified as the principal leader of the criminal organisation Los Pulpos de Trujillo. According to infobae.com, the detainee was considered one of the country's most dangerous fugitives and had a reward of half a million soles for information allowing him to be located.
Cruz Torres was detained by the Bolivian Police and will be transferred to Peru in the coming hours to face investigations against him. The capture occurred, according to Astudillo, after months of coordination between police agencies in the region.
From common delinquency to transnational network
Security analyst Pedro Yaranga indicated that Jhonsson Pulpo belonged to the third generation of a criminal family clan that emerged in the Trujillo district of El Porvenir. The organisation extended its presence outside Peru and also operated in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina; in recent months the gang was reported to be active in Ecuador as well.
Cruz Torres is the son of Jhon Cruz Arce, alias John Pulpo, who was for years the leader of Los Pulpos. According to reliable records cited by infobae.com, Jhonsson assumed command of the criminal structure at the age of 17, following his father's imprisonment.
Under his leadership, the organisation increased its prominence in La Libertad through extortion, kidnapping and contract killing. The National Police of Peru (PNP) attributed more than one hundred crimes to him. He also had a life sentence hanging over him for homicide; Yaranga clarified that this sentence corresponded to aggravated theft resulting in the death of a merchant in 2020.
Origins: transport quotas and expansion towards organised crime
General PNP Víctor Revoredo explained how the structure began. "They started by placing octopus stickers on northern public transport and collecting quotas. Then this criminal group jumps out and Jhonsson Cruz Torres appears," he stated. Los Pulpos' trajectory was linked from its outset with members of the Cruz Arce family: Jhon Cruz Arce and his brothers Miller and Milton Cruz Arce were connected to a network that sought to exercise control in areas of Trujillo through homicides and extortive collections.
Over time, the gang expanded its activities towards land trafficking and illegal mining, and established alliances with groups from different areas of Trujillo. Revoredo mentioned an initial articulation with organisations linked to Los Ochenta and La Esperanza, followed by links with structures from El Porvenir.
Around the group, La Nueva Jauría also emerged, composed of so-called cachaquitos, lower-ranking criminals who carried out various illicit activities. "This criminal circle has formed La Nueva Jauría, which you know as their 'cachaquitos'. Jhonsson Cruz and his brothers lead it," Revoredo stated.
"They keep forming alliances seeking expansion, which is why there is talk of criminal supremacy and hegemony. 'If you don't comply with us, I'll kill you,' is how they react," the officer added.
Background in January: the detention of Cruz Torres' partner in La Paz
The location of members of Cruz Torres' circle had already led Peruvian authorities to coordinate actions with police forces from other countries. In January of this year, a joint operation by the PNP, the Extortion Investigation Division of the Criminal Investigation Directorate, the Bolivian Police and the Chilean Investigation Police made it possible to detain in La Paz Keysi Alessandra Salvatierra Vigo, Jhonsson Cruz's partner, aged 29.
Salvatierra Vigo had an arrest warrant for the kidnapping of Alan Ríos Guevara, son of a councillor from El Porvenir. Those responsible demanded 300,000 dollars for his release. The victim remained 15 days in captivity before recovering his freedom.
Recent violence in Trujillo and the father's return to freedom
The detention of Cruz Torres coincides with a period of renewed attention on Los Pulpos due to new incidents of violence in Trujillo. The kidnapping of mining entrepreneur Jens Marty Lara Tantaquilla occurred during an armed incursion that left four people dead. Lara Tantaquilla was released near his home, according to police information, whilst the PNP maintains proceedings to clarify the circumstances of the case.
At the same time, Jhonsson Pulpo's father, Jhon Cruz Arce, recovered his freedom on 15 July 2025 after 17 years in prison. Since 2008 he had been serving a 25-year sentence for the murder of his ex-partner and another man in Trujillo. By that point, authorities were already pointing to his son as the heir to the structure built by the Cruz Arce family.
For Yaranga, the detention of Jhonsson Pulpo represents a significant blow to an organisation that, under his command, went from being a common delinquency gang to becoming a transnational crime network with a presence in four countries.
Source: Google News BO — Crime