Peru’s Congress votes to oust the interior minister for failing to halt killings

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peru’s Congress voted Friday to remove the interior minister from office after deciding that he had failed to adequately handle rising violent crime in the Andean country.

Interior Minister Juan José Santiváñez by law has 72 hours to leave his position after the no-confidence vote, which succeeded with 78 votes in favor, 11 against and 20 abstentions. Santiváñez insisted that he had worked hard alongside police during his 10 months in office, but that he would respect the lawmakers’ decision.

Santiváñez must step down and take responsibility for his “inability to address the wave of citizen insecurity the country is facing,” the Peruvian Congress said on its X account.

Public outrage has surged over an increase in killings and other violence, especially the killing Sunday of Paul Flores, the 39-year-old lead singer of the cumbia band Armonia 10. He was fatally shot when assailants attacked his band’s tour bus after a concert in Lima.

In reaction to the Flores killing, President Dina Boluarte on Monday declared a state of emergency in the capital and ordered the deployment of soldiers to help police address the surge of violence. That same day, opposition lawmakers requested a vote of no confidence against the interior minister.

Boluarte’s government previously had decreed a state of emergency from September to December in an attempt to stem the violence.

Authorities reported 2,057 killings in 2024, up from 1,506 in 2023.