US EditionPeru Presidential Hopeful Unharmed After Car Shot
Gunmen fired at Rafael Belaunde's SUV near Lima; he suffered minor glass cuts and survived as extortion-related violence rises, with 56 bus drivers killed this year, officials said.
- On December 03, 2025, police said gunshots were fired at the vehicle carrying Rafael Belaunde, Peruvian presidential hopeful, in Cerro Azul, about 130km south of Lima on Tuesday.
- A wider extortion wave has already killed dozens, particularly bus drivers shot over protection money, and experts link it to post-pandemic poverty, political instability, and gangs like Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.
- Gunmen on a motorbike fired several shots at the SUV, shattering the windscreen, while police chief Oscar Arriola said Belaunde was driving, but earlier police reports said he was a passenger.
- Roberto Burneo condemned the attack and urged stronger security before the April 12 elections, while Pedro Cateriano said Belaunde was `unharmed` and called it `a bad start to the campaign`.
- Unrest that has reshaped Peru's presidency provides the backdrop to the campaign, and Mr Belaunde told police he had no threats while polls favour Rafael Lopez Aliaga and Keiko Fujimori.
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The country's political climate is on the rise. A few months before the general elections, an aspirant for the legislature was shot down and right-wing leader Rafael Belaúnde, who aspires to the presidency, was the target of an attack.
The attack, perpetrated by two people from a motorcycle who opened fire on the businessman's vehicle and aspirant for the presidency of the Andean country, adds to the wave of attacks against right-wing politicians in Hispanic America, such as the murder of Colombian Miguel Uribe.
This 50-year-old entrepreneur was not injured. "Eight or nine shots" were fired on his vehicle, before he replied with his gun and fired "at least twelve shots." The election is to be held in April in this country affected by an increase in violence.
Peru: Presidential candidate Belaúnde survives armed attack
Peruvian Presidential candidate Rafael Belaúnde of the Popular Freedom party survived an armed attack on Tuesday in Cerro Azul, a town 147 kilometers south of Lima, sustaining only minor scratches from broken glass.
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