Peruvian military reinforces security at five prisons in Lima and Trujillo
Three prisons in Lima and Trujillo activated perimetric checkpoints this Sunday with support from the Army and Navy. The measure will extend to two other prisons declared under emergency.
Armed forces deployed in maximum-security prisons
Three prisons in Lima and Trujillo activated external perimetric checkpoints this Sunday with backing from the armed forces, according to vision360.bo. The measure is part of an Executive operation that will ultimately reach five prisons declared under emergency on Saturday.
Defence Minister Rafael Belaunde travelled to Trujillo to personally oversee the deployment of Army personnel outside Trujillo Varones prison, known as 'El Milagro'. The operation is coordinated jointly with Peru's National Police.
In the capital, Navy personnel were stationed at Ancón I prison, north of Lima, along with a troop transport vehicle and a light armoured reconnaissance vehicle. Army personnel were also positioned outside Miguel Castro Castro prison, in the San Juan de Lurigancho district, east of Lima. Verification of actions at both penitentiary centres was carried out by the Vice-Minister of Defence Resources, Darwin Eufracio, the Defence Ministry clarified.
Belaunde announced from Air Group No. 8, before departing for Trujillo, the installation of technological inspection equipment at El Milagro. "These are millimetre-wave equipment, a metal detector and an X-ray inspection system for luggage and parcels," the minister declared to the press.
The immediate context is the escalation of organised crime violence in Trujillo. The kidnapping of gold businessman Jenss Lara and the murder of his four companions, attributed to the Los Pulpos gang in an alleged dispute with groups linked to extortion and contract killing, prompted the emergency measures. Lara was released last Monday, following the alleged payment of a ransom.
Belaunde also reported the capture in Bolivia of Los Pulpos leader Jhonsson Cruz, sought by the PNP for a previous conviction for homicide and criminal organisation offences. However, relatives of those detained presented evidence suggesting that those arrested are not the sought-after perpetrators.
The five prisons declared under emergency hold approximately 50 per cent of inmates linked to criminal organisations, who allegedly continue directing their operations from inside the prisons.
Source: Google News PE — Crime