The candidate for the Peruvian presidential elections in April 2026, Rafael Belaunde, escaped an armed attack on Tuesday south of Lima, in a country that is facing an increase in violence related to organized crime, reports AFP, taken over by Agerpres.
“Shots were fired from a motorcycle” at the vehicle of the leader of the People's Freedom party, the head of the Peruvian police, General Oscar Arriola, told the press.
The attack took place in the town of Cerro Azul, about 150 kilometers south of Lima. In a message on X, the police informed that no one was injured by the gunfire.
However, a photo of Belaunde, with his face and shirt covered in blood, quickly went viral on X and was broadcast by several television channels. According to the police chief, the blood stains would come from minor injuries caused by fragments from the windshield, which was hit by three bullets. He did not specify whether the shrapnel hit the politician or his driver.
Sicarios han querido ASESINAR a Rafael Belaunde, nuestro candidato presidencial de Libertad Popular, camino a Cerro Azul.
Criminal organizations seek to kill a quienes los enfrentamos para que no capturen al país.
NO RETROCEDEREMOS ni un centímetro en nuestra lucha contra… pic.twitter.com/IoVv0ZjnPF
— Diego Pomareda (@diego_pomareda) December 2, 2025
The right-wing leader told the police that he had not received any threats, General Arriola said.
“This is a bad start to the campaign (…) This armed attack on Rafael Belaunde must be firmly condemned,” said former minister Pedro Cateriano, founder of the Popular Freedom party, on the RPP radio station.
“He is unharmed. The criminals did not achieve their goal,” Cateriano emphasized. Peru faces, “unfortunately, a climate of active criminal activity,” he added.
The country will organize general elections, both presidential and legislative, on April 12. Currently, Belaunde, a declared candidate, is not among the favorites in the polls. The polls are dominated by the former mayor of the capital Lima, Rafael Lopez Aliaga, and by Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, both of whom are also considered right-wing. Belaunde, 50, is the grandson of former head of state Fernando Belaunde (from 1963 to 1968 and from 1980 to 1985).
In recent years, Peru has been experiencing a wave of violence linked to organized crime. Numerous gangs extort and kill those who oppose the blackmail, which has triggered massive demonstrations led especially by young people and by the transport and trade sectors, which are the most affected.
Faced with the unstoppable growth of insecurity, on October 10 the parliament dismissed the president at that time, Dina Boluarte, in a quick trial. The president of the parliament, José Jeri, a right-wing politician, provides the interim until July 2026, when the new president will be sworn in.
