Peru presidential hopeful survives gun attack

Peru flag

Peruvian presidential hopeful Rafael Belaunde escaped bloodied but not seriously hurt on Tuesday from an attack by gunmen on his car south of the capital, Lima, police said.

Two gunmen on a motorbike fired “eight or nine” shots at the SUV the 50-year-old politician was driving, and the candidate returned fire, according to police chief General Oscar Arriola.

Three bullets shattered the front window, police said, leaving Belaunde with blood stains on his face and shirt from cuts caused by broken glass, widely seen in images on TV and social media.

Belaunde said the injuries were “scratches sustained after the incident” in the town of Cerro Azul, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Lima.

Using his own weapon, Belaunde fired “at least 12 shots” at his attackers, Arriola told news outlet Peru 21. No gunshot injuries were reported.

Belaunde, a former energy minister and grandson of two-term ex-president Fernando Belaunde, told police he had not received any threats.

‘A bad start’ –

Pedro Cateriano, a member of Belaunde’s Libertad Popular (Popular Liberty) party, told RPP radio that the attack is “a bad start to the campaign” at a time Peru is gripped by a surge in graft and organised crime, giving rise to protests led by Gen Z demonstrators that have left dozens injured and at least one dead.

Belaunde faces a group of at least 12 candidates ahead of the general elections on April 12.

He currently ranks near the bottom in opinion polls, which favour former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga and Keiko Fujimori, daughter of late former president Alberto Fujimori. Both right-wing politicians say they will be tough on organised crime. Punch