Peru · Justice
Key Facts
—Confession. Venezuelan national Luis Iván Obispo Díaz has confessed to shooting candidate Susy “China Polo” Aponte, telling police he was promised between S/10,000 and S/15,000 (roughly US$2,800–4,200) for the hit.
—The alleged recruiter. Obispo says a Peruvian woman known as “La Gocha” hired him from Lima, contacted through a ride-hailing taxi customer, and sent him the victim’s photograph by phone.
—Second death. A 72-year-old woman wounded in the 19 September attack in Caraz has died in hospital, becoming the second fatal victim of the shooting.
—Denial. Second detainee Ronald José Toro Ardila, held as the alleged financier, denies funding the murder and says his 18-year-old half-sister controlled his bank accounts.
—Deadline. The 15-day preliminary detention of both suspects expires on 4 October, the day Peruvians vote in regional and municipal elections.
The confessed gunman in the murder of Peruvian candidate Susy “China Polo” Aponte says he was hired for a few thousand dollars by a woman he never met, while a second victim of the Caraz attack has died and the suspects’ detention clock runs out on election day.
What the Confessed Gunman Told Police
Luis Iván Obispo Díaz, the Venezuelan detained minutes after the 19 September shooting at the Caraz market, has confessed to carrying out the killing, according to his videotaped statement to the criminal investigation division in Huaraz, parts of which were published by La República. He told investigators he was promised between S/10,000 (about US$2,910) and S/15,000, about US$2,800 to US$4,200, for the assassination. “Una feria buena,” he called it: good money.
According to his account, the contract came from a Peruvian woman he knew only by the nickname “La Gocha”, who contacted him from Lima. The link, he said, was established through a customer of the ride-hailing taxi service he worked for; communication was exclusively by phone, and he received a photograph of Aponte on his mobile, which he said he discarded while fleeing. He claimed to have bought the murder weapon for S/500 (about US$140) in Villa María del Triunfo, a district in southern Lima.
Obispo was shot three times during his capture, reportedly by a member of the candidate’s security detail, and gave his statement from the Víctor Ramos Guardia hospital in Huaraz under police guard, nursing a fractured jaw. América Noticias reported on 1 October that he has since been discharged and transferred to a jail facility. Prosecutors stress that his version, including the identity of “La Gocha”, still has to be corroborated.
The Alleged Financier Denies Everything
The second man in custody, Ronald José Toro Ardila, is being investigated as the alleged financier of the hit. In his own police statement, reported by Infobae and Trome, he rejected the accusation outright and offered an unusual defence: he claimed his 18-year-old half-sister had control of his bank accounts. Investigators are now tracing money flows and phone records to test both men’s stories.
A court granted prosecutors 15 days of preliminary detention for both suspects, a measure that prosecutor Raúl Godos confirmed expires on 4 October. By then the Fiscalía must decide whether to seek formal pre-trial detention, extend its inquiries, or release the men — a decision landing precisely on election day.
A Second Victim Dies in Hospital
The attack’s toll has risen. A 72-year-old woman who was wounded by gunfire during the campaign walk died on 1 October after nearly two weeks in hospital, local outlets including Ancash Noticias and Sol TV reported. Her name was given with slight variations, Olimpia or Olinda Pachas Osorio, and official confirmation from health authorities was still pending at the time of writing.
Two supporters had been taken to the intensive care unit of the Víctor Ramos Guardia hospital in Huaraz with gunshot wounds, one to the chest, one to the abdomen, and were intubated with a reserved prognosis, according to hospital director Henry Vásquez. The death makes the Caraz shooting a double homicide case and adds weight to the charges prosecutors are preparing.
An Election Marked by Political Violence
Aponte, a 43-year-old journalist who hosted a Sunday programme of political denunciations, was running for regional governor of Áncash for the Socios por Áncash movement. Days before her murder she had publicly reported death threats, blaming a senior police general, an accusation that remains uncorroborated, and she was herself under investigation by anti-corruption prosecutors over alleged irregularities in the regional transport directorate, which she denied.
Her killing, in the middle of a market at noon, has become the emblematic case of political violence in the run-up to Sunday’s regional and municipal elections, in which more than 13,000 posts are at stake across Peru. For the government of President Keiko Fujimori, whose party hopes to convert national power into territorial gains, the Áncash case has put security at the centre of the campaign’s final days.
What We Could Not Confirm
The identity and motive of the woman known as “La Gocha” remain unverified — one television report named a recruiter called “Jhosselyn”, a possible variant investigators have not confirmed. We could not independently verify the official name of the deceased 72-year-old, nor whether prosecutors will request pre-trial detention before the 4 October deadline. No evidence has been made public linking the death threats Aponte reported, or the police general she accused, to the gunman or his alleged recruiter.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Our main page on the Peru assassination case tracks every new ruling, arrest and statement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who confessed to killing Peru candidate Susy “China Polo” Aponte?
Luis Iván Obispo Díaz, a Venezuelan national detained shortly after the 19 September shooting in Caraz, confessed to police in Huaraz. He said he was promised between S/10,000 and S/15,000 (roughly US$2,800–4,200) by a Peruvian woman known as “La Gocha”, whom he never met in person.
How many people died in the China Polo attack?
Two. Susy Aponte Polo died on 19 September, and a 72-year-old woman wounded in the same shooting died in hospital on 1 October after nearly two weeks in intensive care. A second wounded supporter had also been treated in intensive care in Huaraz.
What happens to the suspects on 4 October?
The 15-day preliminary detention of Obispo Díaz and alleged financier Ronald José Toro Ardila expires on 4 October — the day of Peru’s regional and municipal elections. Prosecutors must decide by then whether to request formal pre-trial detention; Toro denies financing the murder and says his half-sister controlled his bank accounts.
What is known about the alleged recruiter La Gocha?
Obispo Díaz says a Peruvian woman known as La Gocha hired him from Lima. He told police she contacted him through a ride-hailing taxi customer and sent him the victim’s photograph by phone; he says he never met her in person.
Sources
Perú Informa (La República video) · Trome · Infobae · Infobae (ICU) · Gestión
Connected Coverage
The China Polo case — our earlier reporting:
Peru Election 2026: Candidate and Journalist Susy Aponte Polo Shot Dead
Susy Aponte Polo Killing Treated as Contract Hit: Peru Holds Two Foreign Suspects
Sources: La República; Trome; Infobae; Perú21; Gestión; Ancash Noticias.
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