Peru Declares State of Emergency in Lima and Callao Following Cumbia Singer's Murder

Peru's government declared a state of emergency in Lima Metropolitana and Callao on Sunday, March 16, 2025, authorizing the deployment of the Armed Forces to support the National Police. This decision follows a surge in criminal violence, highlighted by the death of cumbia singer Paul Flores, whose band's bus was attacked on a Lima highway. Authorities suspect extortion as the motive. A meeting of the National Citizen Security Council (Conasec) has been convened, and a comprehensive reform of the country's prison system has been decreed.