Overview
- In the past 48 hours several attacks targeted urban transport in Lima and Callao, including a shooting at a Línea 41 bus in Villa El Salvador, a combi shot in Callao that left its driver Jesús wounded, and an attempted extortion against a Pesqueros unit.
- The government activated the Mininter-led Plan Escudo and deployed more than 4,000 police and military personnel to yards, paraderos and routes to protect drivers and passengers.
- Police say roughly 70% of Lima’s bus fleet now has panic buttons linked to the ATU monitoring platform, and one Pesqueros driver used a panic button to summon help and escape unharmed.
- Transport leaders say they were not consulted on the plan, demand intelligence-led operations to dismantle extortion mafias, and some companies are weighing suspending services for driver safety.
- Authorities are investigating links between the recent attacks and organized extortion rings as the Public Ministry’s observatory records 240 attacks with victims from August 2024 to July 2026, a pattern that risks wider disruption for commuters.