The State Department on Tuesday congratulated conservative candidate Keiko Fujimori after she was declared the winner of Peru’s presidential runoff election by a razor-thin margin.

The statement marked a significant milestone in Latin American relations, with Washington signaling it expects to work closely with Fujimori’s administration on shared priorities.

«The United States congratulates President-Elect Keiko Fujimori of Peru on her important electoral victory,» the department said. 

«The Trump Administration looks forward to deepening collaboration with the Fujimori Administration to advance security cooperation and to strengthen bilateral cooperation on investment and trade in our region.»

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Her victory comes as Washington seeks to strengthen ties with pro-market allies in Latin America amid growing Chinese economic influence in the region.

Beijing recently completed the Chancay deepwater port in Peru — a $1.3 billion mega-project that serves as China’s key logistics hub on the Pacific coast.

Fujimori’s tough stance on organized crime also aligns with U.S. efforts to expand regional security and anti-trafficking cooperation.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on during a ceremony at the U.S. embassy in New Delhi on May 23, 2026. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP)

Fujimori was declared the winner Monday by Peru’s National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), the electoral authority responsible for reporting vote count results. The country’s final authority on election matters, the National Jury of Elections (JNE), has yet to issue its official proclamation, according to Reuters.

According to the ONPE, Fujimori secured 50.1% of the vote, winning by fewer than 50,000 votes out of roughly 18 million ballots cast.

Her victory over leftist challenger Roberto Sánchez marks her fourth presidential bid and makes her Peru’s first female president-elect. 

The result caps a deeply divisive election cycle in a country that has gone through nine presidents in the past decade.

Fujimori is also the daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who ruled the country during the 1990s.

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Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori waves outside his home in Santiago, Chile, on May 18, 2006. (Claudio Santana/AP Photo)

Fujimori’s presidency marks a return of her family’s political brand to Peru’s highest office — a movement that has long carried a complicated relationship with the United States.

While Washington once backed her father for his fight against communist guerrillas and economic reforms in the 1990s, the U.S. later condemned his government over the dismantling of democratic institutions and allegations of human rights abuses.

Keiko Fujimori has since spent more than two decades attempting to reshape «Fujimorismo» into a modern conservative, law-and-order political movement.  

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Peruvians voted in favor of Fujimori amid a surge in violent crime, extortion and years of political instability.

Fujimori campaigned on an «iron fist» approach to security and a pledge to protect Peru’s free-market economy, while her opponent focused on rural economic grievances. 

Reuters contributed to this report.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Virginia from enforcing a new law that would prohibit federal agents — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol — from wearing masks while carrying out enforcement operations, siding with the Trump administration in a dispute over federal authority.

Senior U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) request for a preliminary injunction, preventing the law from taking effect Wednesday while the legal challenge proceeds. The injunction will remain in place while the case is litigated.

Payne found the federal government is likely to succeed on the merits because Virginia’s law attempts to regulate how federal officers enforce immigration laws, violating the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause.

MINNESOTA SENATE VOTES TO BAN ICE FROM WEARING MASKS, ALLOW RESIDENTS TO SUE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS

The judge also found the government demonstrated it would likely suffer irreparable harm because enforcing the law could expose federal employees to «real risk of physical harm» while carrying out immigration enforcement duties.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit the DOJ filed last week challenging two laws signed by Democrat Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.

The DOJ argued the measures would subject masked federal agents to criminal penalties and threaten agreements between federal immigration authorities and local law enforcement.

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«Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,» Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said when the lawsuit was filed.

«Virginia’s anti-law enforcement policies regulate the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents,» he added. «These laws cannot stand.»

The lawsuit argued Virginia was attempting to dictate how federal officers carry out law enforcement operations by restricting when they may wear face coverings, requiring them to display identifying information and placing conditions on cooperation agreements between local agencies and ICE.

MINNESOTA SENATE VOTES TO BAN ICE FROM WEARING MASKS, ALLOW RESIDENTS TO SUE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger has ended agreements between state law enforcement agencies and federal immigration authorities. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images, File)

According to the DOJ, federal officers who violated Virginia’s mask and identification law could have faced a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

The lawsuit names Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano as defendants.

Payne’s order applies only to Virginia’s mask and identity law. The judge noted the Justice Department’s separate challenge to another provision governing immigration enforcement agreements will proceed on a different briefing schedule, with a hearing scheduled for Aug. 3.

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Spanberger, Jones and Descano have all taken steps to counter the Trump administration’s ICE agenda in Virginia.

In February, Spanberger rescinded an executive order issued by former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin directing state law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Spanberger’s office for comment on the development.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

Thousands of police officers were deployed across South Africa after large-scale protests against illegal immigration erupted Tuesday, with destructive clashes spreading across multiple cities.

The unrest, involving thousands of protesters, broke out ahead of a June 30 deadline set by some organizers demanding the departure of all illegal migrants, according to Reuters.

The marches reportedly drew thousands of mostly poor or unemployed South Africans, who say foreign migrants have taken jobs by accepting lower wages while also fueling higher crime rates.

At least four people have been killed as violence and looting spread across the country, Reuters reported.

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The clashes mark the largest migration-related protests since anti-migrant violence erupted in South Africa in 2008.

While thousands of foreign nationals from other African countries had already fled ahead of Tuesday’s so-called deadline, tensions have remained high, Reuters said.

Multiple businesses and properties were vandalized in several areas, according to reports.

In anticipation of further attacks, many shops reportedly closed, with foreign workers staying home.

Landlords in Durban and Johannesburg also evicted foreign tenants illegally to avoid further trouble, witnesses alleged.

Reuters added that 100 Congolese nationals were reported sleeping on the streets of Durban.  

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Protesters stand with wooden sticks near a fire burning in the street in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 30, 2026. (Reuters)

While many marches were considered peaceful, police reported that they arrested several looters and fired rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

National broadcaster SABC added that protesters looted shacks belonging to foreign nationals in the Soweto township. 

In Thembisa, a suburb of Johannesburg, rioters reportedly threw stones at police and suspected migrants, with witnesses saying sporadic gunfire was heard.

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Police deployed tactical vehicles and fired shots in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, after being confronted by a group of roughly 500 protesters, Daily Maverick reported. 

Thousands of police officers have been deployed nationwide, while the military was placed on standby, a defense spokesperson said in a statement. 

«To those who intend to break the law tomorrow, our message is simple: do not test the resolve of the State,» Lt. Gen. Tebello Mosikili said. 

Protesters start a fire in the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 30, 2026. (Reuters)

The «March and March» group, one of the more prominent organizations behind the unrest, addressed the violence, saying it cannot be held responsible for spontaneous incidents breaking out during the demonstrations.  

«Unfortunately, we can’t be in every single community telling them … how to behave,» Jacinta Ngobese, leader of the March and March group, told Reuters two weeks ago. 

Ngobese said the group plans to hold weekly marches until its demands are met, despite the government rejecting the deadline and saying only authorities can enforce immigration laws.

«For ​the next six months, we are asking for our national resources to be used to take the illegal immigrants out of this country. From building to building — they ​must go,» Ngobese said, according to ZimLive.

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Despite South Africa’s high unemployment rate, the country remains Africa’s largest economy and continues to draw migrants.

The immigrant population stands at about 3 million, or roughly 4% of the total, according to StatsSA.

Reuters contributed to this report.