Lima, December 5 (EFE). – Rafael Belaúnde, the Peruvian presidential candidate who was the victim of an attack on Tuesday when he was shot in an attack related to his business activities, assured that he would strengthen his personal security and pay for it himself, without requesting special protection from the state, distinguishing himself from the other candidates.
“How many Peruvians are victims of this situation? From the politician we should protect the bodega owner (the neighborhood shopkeeper), the transport operator, the micro-entrepreneur or the street vendor,” said the candidate of the right-wing liberal party Libertad Popular in an interview with EFE about the increase in extortions and murders by organized crime in Peru.
“I understand that the State Security will provide security assistance to the candidates from December 23. That seems fine to me, but I will not ask for anything extraordinary or different,” said Belaúnde, grandson of two-time President Fernando Belaúnde Terry (1963-1968 and 1980-1985).
The businessman and current candidate will not reinforce his security with public funds, although the president of the National Electoral Jury (JNE), Roberto Burneo, has indicated that he is considering providing all candidates with bulletproof vests.
“I am convinced that in a situation like the one we are experiencing in Peru, personal security must be a matter where you take control of your own security,” said the presidential candidate of the right-wing liberal party Libertad Popular.
Belaúnde was shot dead by men on a motorcycle as he visited a property in Cerro Azul, a beachfront neighborhood south of Lima, where his company planned to carry out a real estate project. The candidate, who was traveling alone, managed to dodge the bullets, jump out of his car and fire his personal weapon at the attackers.
“As I pulled the vehicle to the left so as not to put myself in such a frontal position (to the attackers), I opened the door and jumped in. Then I fired the gun,” said Belaúnde, recalling the incident with some cuts on his face.
Four bullets hit the windshield of the car, three of them in the driver’s area, an event that could have cost him his life and that the candidate wants to put an end to. “My philosophy is to look forward and that has already happened without any serious harm other than material damage,” he said.
To skeptics who speculated that it was an incident aimed at boosting his popularity as a presidential candidate, Belaúnde responded that up to seven bullet casings from his personal weapon and as many from the attackers were actually collected.
Although he had not personally received any threats, he acknowledged that it was difficult to decipher the attackers’ intentions, suspecting that it might even be an attempted theft of his car, recalling that in one of his real estate projects the murder of a worker was linked to “a dispute between criminal gangs linked to the unions.”
Belaúnde has ruled out that the attack had a political motivation, but attributes the case to a series of laws popularly known as “pro-crime” that were dictated by Congress and which he has promised to repeal if he wins the 2026 elections. EFE
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