Two Venezuelans arrested in Peru over killing of Áncash gubernatorial candidate
Peru's prosecution detained two Venezuelan citizens suspected of the contract killing of Susy Aponte, a candidate for governor of Áncash, who was shot at a market during a campaign event.
Peru's prosecution detains two Venezuelans over shooting death of regional candidate
Peru's prosecution detained two Venezuelan citizens on Monday on suspicion of having participated over the weekend in the killing of Susy Aponte, a candidate for governor of the northern region of Áncash, according to elnuevoherald.com. Aponte, 44, was shot whilst conducting a campaign event at a market.
The detainees will remain under investigation for 15 days "for the alleged offence of contract killing", the prosecution specified in a statement. The measure seeks to ensure the presence of the suspects once the period of detention in flagrante delicto expires, after completing the procedures for collecting evidence at the crime scene.
Police reported that one of the detainees was found in possession of a Glock pistol, calibre 9x19 mm, a weapon that has a theft complaint filed in Lima in 2023.
Aponte was recognised in her region for her constant denunciations of alleged corruption against politicians and the police, published on her internet portal "China Polo Dominical".
The crime occurs days before the regional elections on 4 October, in which Peruvians will elect 25 governors and nearly 1,900 provincial and district mayors. At the candidate's wake, follower Jeanet Fuentes called for accountability: "We demand the truth, whoever falls. Keiko Fujimori said she would bring order, it has been two months of government and we have more deaths daily".
President Fujimori departed hours earlier for New York to participate in the United Nations General Assembly.
Legislator and spokesman for the opposition party Juntos por el Perú, Ernesto Zunini, announced that he will push for a motion in Congress to remove the Interior Minister, retired military officer César Astudillo, as a result of "the seriousness of what has occurred".
The killing is part of a wave of insecurity in Peru: the homicide rate rose to 10.7 per 100,000 inhabitants last year, compared with 10.1 in 2024, according to official data.
(Report by Marco Aquino and Anthony Marina, Reuters TV. Edited by Javier López de Lérida.)
Source: Google News PE — Crime