The main interprovincial transport routes to the north of the country —Lima-Huaral, Lima-Huaraz, Lima-Trujillo, and Lima-Chiclayo— became, for just over a month, the scene of an offensive by organizations dedicated to extortion. Between June 5 and July 19, at least 17 attacks were recorded against buses and headquarters of six companies: Zbuss, Emmanuel, CIVA, El Dorado, Cruz del Sur, and Cruz del Norte.
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The escalation began on June 5, when armed individuals fired at the Zbuss headquarters in Independencia. In the following days, the company was targeted with an extortion note, the throwing of a grenade, an explosive against another of its headquarters, and several armed attacks against buses in Independencia, Puente Piedra, and Los Olivos.
The violence then reached Emmanuel, which suffered four attacks between June 24 and July 3, all against buses covering the Lima-Huaral route. Afterwards, the attacks extended to units of CIVA, El Dorado, Cruz del Sur, and Cruz del Norte, which made trips to Chiclayo, Huaraz, and Trujillo, respectively. In several of the attacks, drivers were injured, while dozens of passengers were exposed to gunfire on the Panamericana Norte highway.
In the early hours of July 19, a CIVA bus, covering the Lima-Chiclayo route, was shot at while traveling on the Panamericana Norte. Minutes later, agents from the Los Halcones Norte Squadron began a chase that ended with the capture of Venezuelan citizens Ranger Revolledo Montes, 23, with a record for crimes against public faith, and José Bolívar, 20, with a record for aggravated theft. During the escape, both abandoned a backpack and a 9 mm Browning (.380 automatic) pistol, brand CZ, model 83, which was seized by the officers.
Ballistic tests determined that the weapon had been used in six attacks against buses of the companies Emmanuel, Zbuss, Cruz del Sur, Cruz del Norte, and CIVA. Additionally, the Police’s IBIS system established that the pistol would be linked to 13 criminal acts.
For the head of the Extortion Investigation Division (Divinext), PNP Colonel Holger Obando, the capture of the two alleged hitmen made it possible to establish that the same weapon had circulated among different criminal groups disputing territorial control of extortions in North Lima.
Between July 18 and 22, Divinext carried out five strategic interventions that resulted in 21 detainees: 15 Venezuelan citizens and six Peruvians. The actions were the result of intelligence work that identified the organizations responsible for the attacks against interprovincial transport companies and other targets, such as the bus of the group Las Estrellas de la Cumbia.
One of the first interventions allowed the capture of five people, including two Peruvians, allegedly linked to the attack against the orchestra’s bus. Investigations also established that some of the detainees maintained contact with members of other criminal groups, a link that the Police confirmed during a second operation.
In another procedure, Ranger Rebolledo Montes and José Bolívar were captured, intervened after the attack against the CIVA bus. Although the weapon they carried was linked to six attacks against interprovincial transport companies, investigations currently rule out that both are the authors of all those acts. The main hypothesis is that the pistol was used by different armed wings serving several criminal groups.
The investigations continued with the capture of six alleged members of a gang dedicated to extorting one of the aggrieved companies. The investigation determined that its members were linked through accounts used to receive extortion money and that two of them would be part of the armed wing responsible for carrying out the attacks.
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The fifth operation allowed the arrest of another group allegedly involved in the extortion of two interprovincial transport companies. According to the Police, one of its members would have played the role of supplying weapons to other criminals, including the duo of Venezuelan citizens intervened after the attack against CIVA.
Guild keeps suspension of service under evaluation
The string of attacks led companies to consider suspending their operations during the National Holidays campaign. However, recent arrests have put that measure, for now, on hold.
“What we have requested is that there be no more attacks. In the last five days, there have been no attacks, and that implies that the thermometer could have dropped a bit, but that does not rule out the possibility that, if these happen again, we will have to take a position of service suspension,” Martín Ojeda, representative of the Interprovincial Passenger Transport Association in Buses (Cotrap-Apoip), told El Comercio.
The leader stated that companies maintain permanent coordination with the authorities, although he warned that the threat has not disappeared. “Although today we see a somewhat more favorable outlook for the National Holidays, we still consider that we are in the eye of the storm. What we need is the total dismantling of the gangs. We cannot live in this unease,” explained the guild representative.
Ojeda indicated that the guild has met repeatedly with the Ministry of the Interior, the Directorate for the Fight against Organized Crime, and the police commanders in charge of combating extortion. Still, he stated that there are companies that remain under threat.
The guild representative considered that the fight against organized crime must become a priority for the State. “Security must be the main policy of the State. The population and all economic activities must be able to work with the guarantee of their constitutional right to live in security. We invest, comply with our labor and tax obligations, but we cannot accept a situation of insecurity that discourages any investment in the country,” he said.
For PNP Colonel Holger Obando, the latest interventions show the progress of investigations against organizations dedicated to extortion and are part of a strategy that articulates intelligence, forensics, and operational actions. The head of Divinext pointed out that facing the new dynamics of organized crime requires a comprehensive and sustained response from the State.
“The investigation against criminal phenomena like those the country is going through deploys lines of work such as intelligence, forensics, and public order. Stopping criminal incidence, which presents imported nuances, responds to a comprehensive strategy. From the Police perspective, this type of intervention demonstrates the desire to continue fighting crime permanently, and we are certain that, at some point, we will have these criminal manifestations under control,” said the police chief.
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