Monthly Archives: February 2016

An Alleged Killer, a Plagiarist, and a Jailed Ex-Leader's Kid: Meet Peru's Presidential Field By Simeon Tegel Peruvians might be forgiven for thinking that the race to be their next president resembles a police lineup more than a contest to see which distinguished public servant wins the first round vote on April 10. Frontrunner Keiko Fujimori is campaigning on the controversial hard-right populist legacy of her disgraced father Alberto Fujimori. Now in jail, he was president from 1990 to 2000 and was once ranked sixth on anti-graft group Transparency International's all-time list of…Read more …

Peru's Booming Cocaine Business Is Turning It Into Latin America's Newest Narco State By Simeon Tegel Peru has long vied with Colombia as the world's top producer of cocaine, but has only periodically produced high profile drug lords. Gerson Gálvez Calle — alias "Caracol" or Snail — is one of these. Caracol sprung to the nation's attention late last year after news emerged that he was heading Peru's largest and most violent drug ring, known as the Barrio King. It came just a year after he walked free from jail in highly controversial circumstances.…Read more …