Fans, friends, and neighbors gather for the funeral of Peruvian singer Paul Flores after he was shot dead by hitmen who attacked the bus he was riding with bandmates after a concert in Lima on March 15.
The musicians had been threatened by a criminal gang who attempted to extort money from them, their representatives said.
Following the singer’s death, Peru declared a month-long state of emergency in the capital Lima to allow for the deployment of soldiers to help police crackdown after a wave of killings linked to extortion.
The musicians had been threatened by a criminal gang who attempted to extort money from them, their representatives said.
Local reports have it that extortion is a problem across Latin America, it has taken on alarming proportions in Peru, which is a phenomenon blamed partly on criminal gangs such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua which operates in several Latin American countries.
Since January, more than 450 murders have been reported, according to government data.
Under the state of emergency in effect for Lima and its port of Callao, the government can suspend civil liberties such as the right to assemble, and house searches can be carried out.
Peru declared a state of emergency in parts of the capital last year and deployed the military in response to a spate of murders of bus drivers blamed on a racketeering pandemic.
