PERU · SECURITY
Key Facts
- The country Peru is an Andean copper exporter led since 28 July 2026 by conservative President Keiko Fujimori.
- What happened Fujimori visits Bukele, El Salvador’s president, on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October 2026.
- The prison She is due to tour CECOT, El Salvador’s mega-prison for suspected gang members.
- The draft rule Her government is drafting a rule to label criminal gangs hostile groups, which the army may fight; no text is public.
- Power Index Peru ranks 5th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 54.7 points (October 2026 edition).
Peru’s President Keiko Fujimori visits Bukele in El Salvador on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October 2026, with a tour of the CECOT mega-prison planned. At home, her government is drafting a rule that would label criminal gangs hostile groups, a status that lets the army fight them.
For US readers it matters because Washington sent 252 Venezuelan deportees to CECOT in 2025 and works with Lima in a US-led security pact. Our earlier reports covered the Senate approval of the trip and the hostile-groups plan.
In Plain English
CECOT, short for Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, is El Salvador’s mega-prison for suspected gang members, opened in January 2023 with room for 40,000 inmates. President Nayib Bukele’s security model combines mass arrests under a long state of emergency with that prison system.
A hostile group is a Peruvian legal term for an armed organisation that fights the state, and the army may attack it under war-style rules. So far the label has covered guerrilla remnants, and the government wants it for extortion gangs.
What Happened
Fujimori visits Bukele on a trip that runs from 28 to 31 October, three months after the conservative took office on 28 July 2026. Peru’s Senate cleared it on Wednesday 7 October by a clear majority.
Her programme includes a private meeting with Bukele and an expanded meeting with ministers in San Salvador. She will also visit CECOT in Tecoluca, a flagship school and the Rosales Hospital.
Foreign Minister Carlos Espá takes part in the talks, while Prime Minister Luis Galarreta stays in charge at home. No agreement has been announced, and the stated aim is to exchange experience on citizen security.
What the Draft Rule Says
On Thursday 22 October 2026 Peru published Law 32743 in its official gazette, giving the government special law-making powers for 90 calendar days. Defense Minister Rafael Belaunde said the powers will let it classify criminal organisations as hostile groups.
The change would amend Decreto Legislativo 1095, the 2010 decree on when the armed forces may use force inside Peru. Belaunde called the delegation’s wording ambiguous but enough, and said soldiers would help police and guard prison perimeters.
Under the 2010 decree a hostile group is minimally organised, armed with firearms and able to confront the state for a long time. Operations against it need a state of emergency and a presidential order, and must follow humanitarian-law rules on targets and proportionality.
Why It Matters
Human rights groups have long criticised the system Fujimori is touring. Human Rights Watch, a New York rights group, and Cristosal, a Salvadoran one, documented torture of Venezuelan deportees at CECOT on 12 November 2025.
Washington sent 252 Venezuelan deportees to CECOT in March and April 2025, so the prison is tied to US migration policy. Peru joined the US-led Shield of the Americas, a security framework against cartels, on 10 September 2026.
Peru’s defence minister has also named the last Shining Path guerrilla remnant as a target of closer military ties with Washington. A wider hostile-group label would give the army firmer legal ground for such work.
What It Means for You
When Fujimori visits Bukele, a US reader should expect closer US-Peru security cooperation and more scrutiny of El Salvador’s prisons, where US deportees were held. Our earlier look at the Peru and El Salvador talks and at the Shield of the Americas gives the background.
Anyone with money, staff or family in Peru should follow the decrees, which are due within the 90 days. Officials say the aim is to curb extortion and gang violence, which hit small businesses.
What Is Not Known
We found no agreement from the visit, and no account of the talks from Bukele’s government, so far. Whether Fujimori visits Bukele again, or what the Peruvian draft says about who names the gangs, is not public.
It is open whether the army would act only under a state of emergency, as the 2010 decree requires. We also found no detailed response to the draft yet from Peruvian or international human rights groups.
More: Peru news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Fujimori visiting El Salvador?
When Fujimori visits Bukele she wants to study his security model and tour the CECOT mega-prison, with justice, health and education also on the programme. Her campaign promised a high-security prison modelled on CECOT.
What does hostile group mean in Peru?
It is a legal term from a 2010 decree for an organised, armed group that confronts the state over a long time. The army may use war-style force against such a group once a state of emergency is declared.
When will the new rule take effect?
No date is set. Law 32743 gives the government 90 calendar days to issue its decrees, and the draft text is not public.
Sources: Government of Peru, Law 32743 delegating legislative powers, official gazette El Peruano, 22 October 2026; Defense Minister Rafael Belaunde, press conference on the delegated powers, official gazette El Peruano, 21 October 2026; Decreto Legislativo 1095, rules for the use of force by the armed forces (text), 31 August 2010; Senate of Peru, Legislative Resolution 12 authorising the trip to El Salvador, 7 October 2026; Human Rights Watch and Cristosal, report on Venezuelan deportees held in El Salvador’s mega-prison, 12 November 2025.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error