Crime
Peruvian police chief killed by drug-runners in sports club attack
Benites Joaquin, 55, was a native of the Andean region of Cajamarca and is remembered for his role in fighting the Peruvian state’s fight against the communist terrorist group the Shining Path
April 11, 2022 5:27pm
Updated: April 12, 2022 1:55pm
A senior Peruvian National Police officer was killed on Sunday after three hitmen attacked a sports club in the Viru province, killing the region’s police chief and leaving another officer gravely injured.
According to a new report from La Republica, local police chief Victor Benites Joaquin was shot on the night of April 10 after the three hitmen arrived at a local sports club driving a red Chevrolet car and opened fire on the crowd.
Benites Joaquin, 55, was a native of the Andean region of Cajamarca and is remembered for his role in fighting the Peruvian state’s fight against the communist terrorist group the Shining Path.
"We worked together in Santiago de Chuco back in 1988, at times when terrorism tried to corner us, but we defended the homeland with honor," said Yon Cruzado Tirado, a former colleague.
Although the motive of the crime remains unknown, the Peruvian National Police reported that moments after the attack, the suspects fled to the city of Chimbote. Police subsequently blocked all roads in and out of the city and managed to apprehend the culprits.
Agentes policiales intervinieron a dos sujetos, presuntos autores del homicidio del Comisario encargado de la Comisaría de Chao #Trujillo, sujetos que serían integrantes de una banda delincuencial; se les incautó un arma de fuego y municiones. #SeguimosTrabajando pic.twitter.com/81dOEtqLkQ
— Policía Nacional del Perú (@PoliciaPeru) April 11, 2022
Narcoterrorists attack military base in "drug valley" in Peru
Last Friday, suspected narco-terrorists attacked a Peruvian Army base in the Valley of the Apurimac, Ene and Mantaro rivers (Vraem) – an area where more than half of the country’s coca is produced. The attack on the Corazonpata Counterterrorist Base of the Second Infantry Division ultimately left Private Mikeas Araujo Ñaupa wounded after bullets entered his thorax and left arm.
After the attack, the Joint Command reaffirmed its commitment to combat "terrorism under the current legal framework and in strict observance and respect for human rights.”
Peru is considered the world's second largest cocaine producer. The so-called "drug valley" is fertile for coca crops, the main raw material for cocaine production. In 2020 alone, there were around 28,000 hectares of coca leaf throughout the Vraem, according to a report by the National Commission for Development and Life without Drugs.
