LIMA, Peru (AP) — Commuters and residents in Lima were facing new security measures on Tuesday after Peru ’s government declared a state of emergency in the capital to combat growing crime rates that have prompted some lawmakers to seek the removal of the interior minister.
National police director Victor Sanabria announced there would be an increase in patrols at train stations and bus stations where tens of thousands of commuters gather each morning. Peru’s military on Monday announced it would deploy 1,000 soldiers in Lima to patrol key areas such as train stations, and support local police.
Some residents of the city of eight million people said they still felt unsafe, while local media reports said there was little sign of extra security at transport stations during the morning.
“We’ve been abandoned and left to fend for ourselves” said local resident Pedro Quispe, 48, as he waited for a bus that would take him to the city center. “If you get on a bus you can get shot, if you go to work, you can get asked for extortion payments” he said.
Peru’s government declared the state of emergency on Monday as a group of legislators prepared a vote of no confidence against Interior Minister Juan José Santivañez, who has been accused of failing to stem growing levels of crime.
The motion in the national assembly followed a wave of violent crime over the weekend, including the murder on Sunday of Paul Flores, a popular singer killed during a late night attack on his band's bus. In a separate incident, an object exploded at a restaurant in the capital on Saturday injuring at least 11 people.
The state of emergency is expected to last for 30 days and will enable the government to suspend some civil liberties, including the right of assembly. The decree also enables police to search homes without warrants and arrest citizens without orders from judges. A similar measure was implemented from September to December.
“We are in a situation where there is exponential growth of illegal economies” such as the drug trade, “and in which there is a growing number of international criminal groups” operating in the country, said former Interior Minister Ruben Vargas.
Jorge Zapata, president of the National Confederation of Private Businesses, a powerful trade group, told local radio station RPP that many small business owners in Lima have been forced to make extortion payments to criminal groups.
There were 2,057 murders in Peru in 2024, compared with 674 in 2017, according to government statistics. Some analysts say Peru could soon experience the high rates of crime that are seen in neighboring Ecuador.
According to Peru’s attorney general’s office, there were 22,800 extortion complaints filed by citizens last year, four times as many as in 2017.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Pedestrians walk past soldiers guarding a bridge in Lima, Peru, Tuesday, March 18, 2025, after President Dina Boluarte declared a state of emergency following the killing of a popular singer amid a surge in violence in the capital. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday that he will visit U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The high-stakes meeting comes as Trump continues his trade war and annexation threats.
Carney's Liberal Party scored a stunning comeback victory in a vote widely seen as a rebuke of Trump, whose trade war and attacks on Canadian sovereignty outraged voters.
“We are meeting as heads of our government,” Carney said. “I am not pretending those discussions will be easy.”
In his first comments since election night, Carney said that Canadians elected a new government to stand up to Trump and build a strong economy.
Carney also said that King Charles III will deliver a speech outlining the Canadian government's priorities on May 27, when Parliament resumes. Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
Queen Elizabeth II delivered the speech twice, in 1957 and 1977.
"That clearly underscores the sovereignty of our country,” Carney said.
Carney has emphasized Canada's founding nations, the United Kingdom and France, since becoming prime minister after the resignation of Justin Trudeau. Carney repeated that the old relationship with the U.S. based on steadily increasing integration is over.
"On Tuesday, I had a very constructive call with President Trump, and we agreed to meet next Tuesday in Washington," Carney said. “My government will fight to get the best deal for Canada.”
Carney previously said that Canada’s close friendship with the U.S. has ended and that the 80-year period when the U.S. embraced the mantle of global economic leadership and forged alliances rooted in trust and mutual respect is over.
Trump mocked Carney’s predecessor by calling him Governor Trudeau. He hasn’t trolled Carney.
Robert Bothwell, a University of Toronto professor of Canadian history and international relations, said that Carney shouldn't go to Washington, because he risks Trump insulting Canada and him too.
“There is absolutely no reason to. You can’t bargain with Trump. His word is not his bond. It’s like writing on the water of a pond, a scummy pond. We have nothing to gain,” Bothwell said.
Carney also outlined the priorities of his new government four days after Canadians voted in the Liberals for a fourth mandate. He said that a new Cabinet would be sworn in on May 12.
“Now the election is over, and we are in a once-in-a-lifetime crisis. It’s time to come together, to put on our Team Canada sweaters, and win big,” Carney said. “Now is the time for ambition, to be bold, to meet this crisis with the overwhelming, positive force of a united Canada.”
He said that he will call for an election for a specific district as soon as possible if the opposition Conservatives want Pierre Poilievre, who lost his own seat in the election, to run in a by-election so he can sit in the House of Commons.
“No games, nothing like that,” Carney said.
The Conservative Party announced shortly after that a current Conservative member of Parliament from Alberta will resign so Poilievre can run in that district.
Carney said that he had a constructive conversation with Poilievre about Canada's strategy with the Americans.
“I am in politics to do big things, not to be something,” Carney said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney laughs as he responds to a question during a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney waves to a member of the public as he walks through downtown during a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney smiles as he takes his seat at his first news conference since winning the federal election, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney is seen during a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld /The Canadian Press via AP)
Security keeps a person from the right-wing media group Rebel News away from Prime Minister Mark Carney as he walks to a news conference, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney walks to his first news conference after winning the federal election, in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks during a news conference in Ottawa, Friday, May 2, 2025. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
