Regional candidate killed in Caraz: Ombudsman's Office demands urgent protection for candidates
Susy Aponte Polo, candidate for governor of Áncash, was killed on Saturday during a campaign caravan in Caraz. The Ombudsman's Office demands urgent measures from the Interior Ministry.
Regional candidate from Áncash killed during election campaign caravan in Caraz
Journalist and regional governor candidate for Áncash Susy Isabel Aponte Polo, known as "La China Polo", was killed on Saturday 19 September at midday in the market of the city of Caraz, province of Huaylas. The candidate was participating in a campaign caravan alongside another candidate and supporters when the shooting occurred.
According to preliminary information from the Provincial Sub-prefecture of Huaylas, the attack left five people wounded, two of whom were transferred to Huaraz for medical attention. A suspected perpetrator was arrested thanks to the intervention of local neighbourhood watch officers.
Aponte Polo was running for the Regional Government of Áncash on the "Partners for Áncash" ticket. She had been publicly denouncing death threats and acts of corruption through her journalistic platform, which demonstrates — according to authorities — the lack of effective state protection measures she faced.
The Ombudsman's Office, according to defensoria.gob.pe, expressed its "strongest condemnation and deep concern" at the crime and extended its condolences to the victim's family and to journalists and media professionals across the country.
The organisation also alerted to concerns raised by merchants and citizens of Caraz about the absence of police presence in markets and the delayed arrival of officers despite repeated emergency calls, which it described as "a serious deficiency in citizen security measures".
The Ombudsman's Office characterised the act as "a flagrant violation of human rights and a direct attack on the exercise of political rights and democracy", warning that violence against candidates in the current electoral process represents a critical threat to the legitimacy and normal development of regional and municipal elections.
In this context, the institution urged the Interior Ministry and the National Police of Peru to take, urgently and effectively, the necessary actions to safeguard the lives and integrity of all candidates across the country through a comprehensive strategy for preventing conflicts and the risk of political violence.
Likewise, it requested that the Public Ministry conduct a "swift and exhaustive" investigation to identify and prosecute those responsible for the murder, and that they be imposed the maximum criminal penalty under law, also guaranteeing full reparation for the harm caused to the victim's relatives.
Source: Google News PE — Crime