Lima, Peru — Peru’s National Police on Tuesday captured five people allegedly involved in the recent bombing of a Public Ministry building in Trujillo, a coastal city 350 miles north of Lima.
The country’s Interior Minister Juan José Santibáñez said that among those detained are individuals who allegedly transported the vehicles and materials used in the bombing, which took place on January 19.
“The authorities have arrested individuals in the city of Trujillo connected to the attack on the [Public Ministry’s Office]. Among them is a person identified as a supplier of weapons to criminal organizations in the region,” Santibáñez said.
In addition to the arrests, the investigation led to a residence where authorities seized firearms, detonators, as well as threatening pamphlets.
Attorney General Delia Espinoza made an emergency visit to the area to ensure that the Public Ministry’s functions are not interrupted. The Public Ministry is similar to the Department of Justice in the United States, and is responsible for enforcing laws and investigating individuals and organizations.
Espinoza also stated that, according to preliminary investigations, the detainees are believed to be part of a criminal network dedicated to extortion, reinforcing the hypothesis that the attack is linked to organized crime.
“These kinds of attacks will not intimidate us or make us retreat,” said Espinoza on X. “No case will be abandoned, because, evidently, and according to initial hypotheses, this stems from elements linked to criminal organizations operating in the city of Trujillo.”
The attack, which shattered the windows of the Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office in the Public Ministry and injured a taxi driver due to flying glass, caused significant concern among citizens. The explosion also damaged nearby businesses and created widespread fear in the area.
In response, authorities have not only increased security in Trujillo but have also emphasized that investigations will continue to dismantle the criminal gangs responsible for these violent acts.
Meanwhile, Congressman Diego Bazán of La Libertad, the department where Trujillo is located, described the bombing as an act of terrorism and reiterated his call for the Ministry of the Interior to take stronger action.
“This is undoubtedly terrorism, plain and simple, in the same style as the 1980s. I demand the immediate presence of the Minister of the Interior; otherwise, I will push for his removal,” Bazán stated in a video broadcast by América Noticias.
This incident once again highlights the critical insecurity facing Trujillo, one of the cities most affected by violence and extortion in the country.
