AWAY from the ancient stones of Machu Picchu, Peru is a nation in the grip of a brutal crime wave, with hundreds of gangs holding locals and tourists in the country to ransom.
To their victims, they deliver a simple ultimatum – “lead or silver?”; – a choice to pay up, or face execution.
have doubled since 2019, with half of those in 2024 believed to be contract killings.
The country has seen at least 549 people murdered this year alone.
No one is safe from the , with everyone from bus drivers to being targets, while armed groups of “river pirates”; prey on sightseeing boats.
Long popular with Western tourists, is famed for beautiful cities such as Cusco, dramatic landscapes like the Rainbow Mountain and ancient Nazca Lines.
It was its neighbours, and more recently , that had the reputation for violence.
But with law and order breaking down and Peruvian gangs more willing than ever to extract payment through the barrel of a gun, tourists are seen as easy pickings.
This week, had been found sleeping rough on the streets after a violent robbery left her too terrified to seek help.
Fashion graduate , 32, headed to Cusco for a spiritual retreat in March but had her passport, phone and money stolen before locals set alight to what possessions she had left.
Forced to sleep under a bridge with an elderly homeless man, friends and family feared she’d been kidnapped or worse after they lost contact with her for three days.
Tragically, the traumatising ordeal has caused her mental health to spiral and she continues to refuse food, shelter, or help from the British embassy.
River pirates
Also on the hunt for tourists are the so-called “river pirates”; who stalk the tributaries of the Amazon River.
Only last week, a recounted how one of these gangs boarded her boat before robbing her and her family.
Calling it the “worst day of her life”;, Elisabet de la Almudena was enjoying a sightseeing trip with about 13 other tourists when four gang members armed with pistols and a machine gun came on to the boat.
They were then forced to open their mobile banking apps and had their accounts ransacked, before being led into the jungle and stranded.
And in August 2023, John Bathgate and Ian “Yan”; Roberts were attempting to complete a world-first navigation of the Amazon when two men pulled up in a boat beside them and held up a pistol.
“As soon as the pistol was presented, Yan thrust the paddle straight into the guy’s chest to disarm him, and then he dived into the water to capsize them,”; John recalled.
“I think I grabbed him, and there were two shots – the first was aimed at Yan and missed, the second shot hit me in the shoulder.”;
After a further tussle and another hit to the body, John managed to wrestle the weapon out of his hand.
With their attackers disarmed, the pair swam back to their boat and safely made it to a local village to receive medical treatment.
Both of the would-be robbers were eventually arrested by .
While the UK’s Foreign Office has to warn against all but essential travel to certain regions in the country, it is locals who are bearing the brunt of the surge in violence.
Around half of Peru’s shopkeepers have found themselves extorted by the opportunistic gangs, many of which are funded by brutal illegal gold mine operations and the drugs trade.
Methods used by the criminals to terrorise their victims include not only the threat of being stabbed and shot, but also grenade and bomb attacks.
They are killing us
Protesters' chant
Peru is also now the world’s second largest .
The capital has seen massive protests as ordinary citizens demand that the government do more to protect them, with President Dina Boluarte was forced to declare a state of emergency on March 17.
The announcement came after the lead singer of one of Peru’s most popular bands, Paul Flores, was slain when his tour bus was hit by a spray of bullets that hit him through the windshield.
The band, Armonia 10, were travelling from a concert venue on March 16 when men on motorbikes targeted the bus, with police believing the attack was linked to an extortion attempt by a local gang.
It was a sign that no one was safe from the violence – not that locals needed reminding, with a recent report revealing that one in three Peruvians know a victim of extortion.
Teachers slaughtered
The problem is thought to be even worse than the statistics imply, as many victims avoid informing the police over fears the gangs will seek retribution.
Small businesses like market traders and hairdressers are prime targets, paying between $25 (£18) and $1,000 a month.
However, have also proved to be a lucrative source of income for the gangs.
In October last year, a teacher in the capital city of Lima was gunned down in front of terrified children, executed by an assassin pretending to deliver a legal notice.
In response, thousands of protesters took to the streets, chanting “They are killing us.”;
And since June last year, twenty schools in the northern city of Trujillo have been placed under army protection following a spate of brutal attacks.
That same month, four people were arrested for an extortion attempt on a local college, including an 11-year-old and a 16-year-old accused of throwing dynamite at the school while pupils were in lessons.
March’s declaration is the third state of emergency declared in less than a year, though previous attempts to stem the violence have had little effect.
Bus companies are another popular target, with a shocking seven out of ten transportation companies in the country understood to be victims of extortion, with payments averaging around $4,000 a month.
Motorbike-riding assailants will often target buses even while they carry passengers – yet with crime out of control, bus companies have little choice but to cough up to the gangs.
Hitmen, extortions, and protection fees – what is the government’s response to all of this? There is total inaction
Martin Valeriano
The widespread racketeering is also just the tip of the iceberg of a network of criminal activity that encompasses everything from sexual slavery and organ trafficking to cocaine production and illegal gold .
The amount of land dedicated to coca cultivation increased by 18 per cent between 2021 and 2023, with cultivation led by criminal gangs.
Illegal mining also remains a huge problem in the country, though now gangs are beginning to make attempts to take over legitimate mines run by private companies.
and killed earlier this month in the province of Pataz, after criminals attacked and occupied the mine, forcing the government to send in the army and secure the area.
Lawless playground
Extensive networks of corrupt officials and police officers also play a crucial role in facilitating the movement of trafficked goods and people across the region.
And while much of the violence is the work of local gangsters, in many cases they have links to larger that operate internationally.
One of them is the notorious , a Venezuelan gang that Donald Trump recently accused of trying to “invade”; the .
In February, 123 women and girls were rescued from the gang following a police raid in the capital, with 23 gang members also arrested.
Even the , , and Colombian mafias are believed to run some operations in Peru, a further sign that the country is turning into a lawless criminal’s playground.
Nonetheless, few people in the country feel as if the government has a grip on the situation.
“Hitmen, extortions, and protection fees – what is the government’s response to all of this?,”; president of the Transport Union Martin Valeriano told France 24.
“There is total inaction.”;
In response to last month’s violence, President Bolarte announced a general election will be held in March 2026.
Many are hoping Peru can find its own version of Nayib Bukele, whose brutal gang crackdown reduced the murder rate from one of the highest in the world to the lowest in South America – a 98 per cent decrease in nine years.
For the meantime, however, terrified Peruvians have little reason to believe their torment at the hands of the criminal gangs will come to an end any time soon.
