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Peru’s Extortion Prosecutions Collapse as 85,000 Complaints Yield About 20 Sentences

A severe forensics backlog with scarce technology leaves cases idle, reinforcing impunity.

Overview

  • New investigative figures show only 20 extortion convictions nationwide between January 2024 and July 2025 despite more than 85,000 complaints since 2020.
  • Just 1,470 complaints from 2020 to 2025 reached the courts, leaving over 98% without an effective sanction, according to a cited security specialist.
  • Organized-crime prosecutors report 294 phones analyzed with more than 1,100 devices still pending review due to limited digital-forensics capacity.
  • Sources say the police have fewer than five operational Cellebrite units, stretching peritajes to months and stalling major investigations.
  • Violence is concentrated in Lima, Callao, and La Libertad, including three attacks on public transport in under a month and a bus shooting in Chorrillos despite emergency measures.