Arriola leaves PNP after tenure marked by 2,026 homicides and Trujillo case
Former general commander of the PNP Óscar Arriola left his post with more than 2,000 homicides recorded. The kidnapping of businessman Jenss Lara intensified criticism.
Arriola departs PNP after nearly a year with more than 2,000 homicides recorded
Óscar Arriola left the General Command of Peru's National Police with 15 days remaining to complete a year in the position, moving to retirement status amid criticism over the rise in citizen insecurity and the controversial institutional response to the kidnapping of mining businessman Jenss Lara in Trujillo.
According to infobae.com, data from the National Computerised System of Deaths (Sinadef) covering his complete tenure—between October 2025 and 15 September 2026—recorded 2,026 homicides nationwide.
The months with the highest violence were October (186 victims), March (202), June (195) and February (169). In all of them the average of six people murdered per day was exceeded; in March 2026 the figure reached 6.52 daily homicides. By mid-September, the year-to-date total had reached 1,486 deaths.
The threat to public transport in Lima
Criticism of Arriola's tenure was not confined to him personally: it also targeted the Ministry of the Interior and the government of President Dina Boluarte. The central focus was the wave of violence against public transport in Metropolitan Lima and Callao.
A report by the Observatory of Crime of the Public Ministry identified 214 attacks against the sector between August 2024 and May 2026. These attacks, linked to extortion, left 283 victims: 152 killed and 131 injured. Some 69.3 per cent of those affected were drivers; passengers represented 20.5 per cent and fare collectors 5.3 per cent. 97.7 per cent of attacks resulting in victims were carried out with firearms.
Vehicles were attacked whilst in circulation, at bus stops or with passengers on board.
The case that precipitated his departure
The incident that marked the end of his tenure occurred on the night of 30 August: Jenss Lara, a mining businessman, was kidnapped in Trujillo, and four people accompanying him in a vehicle were murdered.
Lara was released 36 hours later, but Arriola had to acknowledge publicly that the Police did not participate in his rescue: the victim's family negotiated directly a payment with the kidnappers. Subsequent investigations established links between the group and a criminal organisation known as 'Los Pulpos'; its leader, identified as 'Jhonsson Pulpo', was captured shortly afterwards.
The PNP detained five people as alleged participants in the kidnapping. However, the official account from senior command generated new doubts: according to the police version, those detained would have worn police uniforms during the attack, although security camera recordings would show that those involved had a "military bearing".
The controversy with the Defence Minister
In this context, official photographs emerged placing Arriola during a conversation between one of the five detained individuals and Defence Minister Rafael Belaúnde, sent by the Executive to coordinate the State's response.
What was initially presented as an interrogation was contradicted by Belaúnde himself, who clarified that he had only wished to verify "what situation the detainees were in, their health, their condition" and that he did not participate "in any procedure, in any interrogation".
The National Prosecutor, Tomás Gálvez, stated that that conversation was "informal" and warned that it could obstruct the investigations, given that any statement obtained outside the formal framework lacks procedural validity. "The prosecutor is present in the formal statement being taken and even directs the statement. He will interrogate jointly with the officer, the police instructor", Gálvez stated.
Criticism also reached the head of the Dirincri, General Víctor Revoredo, who faced similar questions over the handling of the detentions.
Background to the tenure
In March 2026, Arriola had stated that homicides nationwide fell by 9.2 per cent compared with the same period in the three previous years. However, the total figures at the close of his mandate contradict that optimistic projection.
During his period leading the PNP, Arriola worked alongside successive Interior Ministers and under the presidencies of Dina Boluarte, José Jerí and José María Balcázar in efforts to contain crime, without reversing the upward trend.
At the time of publication of this report, the PNP holds 13 people in detention linked to the Trujillo attack. The Public Ministry has requested 36 months of pre-trial detention against 'Jhonsson Pulpo' and other implicated parties, whilst proceedings in the case continue.
Source: Google News PE — Crime