Overview

• The incident occurred in Juliaca, Puno, after reporter Max Lanza questioned the congressman over past remarks linking Puno protest victims to Sendero Luminoso.
• Lanza says Valer pushed him and later spat in his face during the confrontation, while stating he is reluctant to file a criminal complaint due to distrust in the justice system.
• Valer denies spitting, claims he was assaulted, says he saw a forensic doctor, filed a criminal complaint in Juliaca, and argues the circulating video was edited.
• The Congressional Ethics Commission, led by Elvis Vergara, sent Valer a formal request to submit information on the episode for evaluation as soon as possible.
• Lawmakers including Alejandro Muñante urged an Ethics review and Patricia Juárez said the panel should be rigorous, as press-rights groups such as IPYS publicly repudiated the aggression.