Cuando faltan cuatro días para las elecciones presidenciales y legislativas de Perú, el incremento de la delincuencia se mantiene como la principal preocupación, incluso por encima de la inestabilidad política que ha provocado el desfile de ocho presidentes en la última década.

Las encuestas realizadas en los últimos meses han mostrado altos niveles de preocupación entre los peruanos por la delincuencia y la corrupción. En tanto, un relevamiento nacional realizado en 2025 por el estatal Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática encontró que 84% de los consultados en áreas urbanas dijo que temía ser víctima de algún delito en los siguientes 12 meses.

En el último quinquenio las denuncias por extorsión, un delito que ha provocado protestas y paralizaciones frecuentes del transporte público, se han quintuplicado; mientras los asesinatos se han duplicado, según datos oficiales.

“Subes al bus y tienes que sentarte lejos del chofer, no sabes si vas a llegar vivo a tu casa… los delincuentes pasan en moto, disparan, matan al chofer y también puedes morir”, relató el jubilado Raúl Zevallos, de 63 años.

En 2025 fueron asesinados 239 choferes del transporte público en Perú, de acuerdo con datos recopilados por el Observatorio del Crimen y la Violencia.

Según los expertos y la policía, la llegada en los últimos 10 años de organizaciones criminales extranjeras ha introducido al país nuevos métodos de violencia. También han influido el auge de la minería ilegal y el narcotráfico, que han creado zonas donde la presencia del Estado es casi inexistente.

Candelaria Lifoncio, de 46 años y madre de cuatro, relató cómo la violencia ha ido en aumento cada año en los exteriores de los locales de conciertos de cumbia donde vende cigarrillos. “Voy por todo Lima en las noches y dos veces me he salvado de que me caiga una bala”, dijo.

Harvey Colchado -un coronel de la policía retirado en 2024 luego que su grupo allanara la casa de la entonces presidenta Dina Boluarte (2022-2025)- dijo a AP que la causa de la expansión del crimen «es la corrupción en el poder”.

Colchado -que a lo largo de su trayectoria ha capturado a jefes criminales, narcotraficantes, integrantes del grupo terrorista Sendero Luminoso y a políticos poderosos- afirmó que es urgente una profunda reforma policial para eliminar a los agentes cooptados por los grupos violentos y aumentar el presupuesto para cada uno de los más de 70 departamentos de investigación criminal. “Ahora no tienen ni un sol (la moneda peruana)”, dijo.

Sin ese financiamiento, añadió, los investigadores policiales no pueden pagar a informantes que son clave en la investigación moderna. También se necesita invertir en tecnología y programas informáticos para rastrear e interceptar llamadas telefónicas y comunicaciones por las redes sociales.

Desde su retiro, Colchado ha incursionado en la política de la mano del nuevo partido Ahora Nación y se postula para diputado.

Analistas y otros partidos que participan en la contienda han afirmado que otra de las primeras tareas del próximo Legislativo debe ser la eliminación de las leyes que favorecen a los grupos criminales y que el saliente Congreso aprobó con votos de los partidos Fuerza Popular y Renovación Popular, que lucen como los favoritos.

Esas cuestionadas normas eliminaron la detención preliminar en delitos cometidos en flagrancia, elevaron los requisitos para confiscar bienes a delincuentes y dificultaron la colaboración eficaz y los allanamientos.

Keiko Fujimori, la candidata presidencial del partido conservador Fuerza Popular, ha defendido estas leyes y afirma que buscan que los juicios sean más rápidos y justos.

Varios candidatos proponen retirar al país del Pacto de San José de Costa Rica para dejarlo afuera de la jurisdicción de la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos y así poder instaurar la pena de muerte para violadores de menores de edad y sicarios y limitar la comida a los presos que dirijan delitos desde la cárcel. También sugieren la construcción de prisiones inspiradas en el Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo de El Salvador y hasta devolver a sus países a todos los venezolanos y colombianos indocumentados.

Fujimori promete retomar el control de las fronteras y cárceles con los militares, mientras Rafael López Aliaga -candidato de Renovación Popular-, anticipó que construirá una cárcel en la Amazonía donde las serpientes venenosas impedirán que los reos escapen.

El comediante Carlos Álvarez, del partido País para Todos, propone convocar a líderes de El Salvador, Dinamarca y Singapur para que vuelquen su experiencia en seguridad y Ricardo Belmont -del partido Obras y ex alcalde de Lima- afirma que los puestos de auxilio rápido serán claves para atender a las víctimas de la delincuencia.

“Ya no puedes creerle a ninguno, nada va a cambiar”, se quejó Juan Gómez, un albañil de 53 años, mientras cargaba dos pesadas bolsas que contenían papas y arroz para alimentar a sus cinco hijos. “Vienen en moto, te ponen una pistola… miras a un lado y al otro y no hay ni un policía ¿Qué vas a hacer? Te dejas robar nomás”, culminó.

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., suggested that higher-earning Americans were the real «enemy» during a campaign rally headlined by a far-left social media influencer on Tuesday.

«I see other people who are fighting like hell to make you feel like your enemy is sitting next to you,» Lee said in a video posted by The Washington Free Beacon. «That your enemy is somebody who worships differently than you are, or looks differently than you are, comes from a different socioeconomic background than you, unless they are the upper class.»

«They only have the politics of fear and division and destruction and disruption. They need us to keep our focus away from the people who have participated in the biggest sex trafficking ring in our country,» Lee continued, appearing to reference the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. «I need you to instead lead and learn and live in your power.»

Lee, a left-wing lawmaker affiliated with «the Squad,» made the remarks during a campaign event she participated in to boost Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., another «Squad» member who is supporting El-Sayed, was in attendance.

ILLINOIS DEMOCRAT CONDEMNS PARTY MEMBERS RALLYING WITH FAR-LEFT STREAMER HASAN PIKER

El-Sayed, who is running with the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is viewed as the most progressive candidate in the state’s three-way Democratic primary.

Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said «America deserved 9/11,» headlined the rally. Piker has also drawn backlash from both parties over his comments on the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, the Israeli government and the Chinese Communist Party, which critics have called antisemitic and anti-American.

Lee, who has repeatedly advocated for pro-Palestinian causes, doubled down on her decision to appear at the campaign event with Piker in a statement obtained by the outlet City & State Pennsylvania.

«At a moment when Donald Trump is threatening catastrophic violence against Iran and saying ‘a whole civilization will die tonight,’ our priorities are deeply out of step if this is what some choose to focus on,» Lee said in a statement, referring to the president’s comments on Truth Social on Tuesday. «We need to invite young people in, take them seriously, and recognize that our politics are strongest when everyday people have a real hand in shaping them.»

«If reporters have questions about Hasan Piker’s statements, they should ask Hasan Piker,» Lee added.

El-Sayed also sought to distance himself from Piker’s statements during an interview on «Fox & Friends» on Tuesday.

Abdul El Sayed, left, pictured alongside Hasan Piker, right. (Evan Cobb for The Washington Post via Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/FilmMagic)

WHO IS HASAN PIKER? MEET THE FAR-LEFT STREAMER WHO IS STIRRING UP CONTROVERSY ONLINE AND DIVIDING DEMOCRATS

 «Of course I oppose rape. Of course I don’t think 9/11 was justified,» El-Sayed said. «[Just] because you appear with somebody doesn’t mean you agree with them on everything.»

El-Sayed also floated Lee as a potential leftist challenger to Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., if he decides to seek reelection in 2028. Fetterman has faced criticism from some Pennsylvania Democrats for voting with Republicans to support Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation, among other instances where he has crossed party lines.

Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Mich., El-Sayed’s primary opponents, sharply criticized his decision to campaign with Piker.

(L-R) US Representative Summer Lee, Democrat of Pennsylvania, embraces US Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, as US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
(Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

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«It is unacceptable for a candidate wanting to represent all Michiganders to campaign with Hasan Piker, a person who is unapologetic about a career of making hurtful and anti-Semitic comments,» Stevens said in a statement. «With all that’s at stake in this election, we should be focused on the challenges Michiganders are facing and how to fight for them.»

Fox News Digital reached out to Lee’s office for comment.

For voters feeling the sting of rising gas prices, a trip to the gas pump is becoming a daily flashpoint as midterm elections loom.

President Donald Trump touted low gas prices during his February State of the Union address, saying they had fallen «below $2.30 a gallon in most states and in some places, $1.99.»

Now, an escalating conflict with Iran is sending prices sharply higher — particularly in battleground states like Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Ohio. That surge is undercutting a central economic message that helped power Trump’s return to office and could reshape the political landscape as fuel costs rise in key states.

«I used to put $30 worth of gas in my car for the week — now it’s $45,» said Zafar, an Uber driver who typically fills up in Virginia, where gas prices are more than $1 higher than a year ago.

WHERE GAS PRICES ARE RISING THE FASTEST AS TRUMP’S IRAN DEADLINE LOOMS

«I have no choice — I have to support my family,» he said, adding that he can’t afford to cut back on driving despite rising gas prices.

Just weeks ago, the outlook looked very different.

The national average has climbed to $4.16 per gallon, up about 91 cents from a year ago, according to AAA, with prices rising across nearly every region.

West Coast drivers are seeing the highest costs, with prices reaching $5.93 per gallon in California and $5.39 in Washington. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, gas prices have surpassed $4 in several areas, including $4.29 in Washington, D.C., and $4.18 in Pennsylvania. 

Meanwhile, in the Midwest, Illinois stands out at $4.36 per gallon, while much of the region remains in the mid-$3 range. While Southern states remain comparatively cheaper, prices are climbing there as well, with Georgia at $3.73, Texas and Alabama at $3.84, and Florida higher at $4.18.

Oklahoma and Kansas have the lowest gas prices in the nation, at $3.34 and $3.39, respectively.

Beyond gasoline, other fuel costs are rising even faster. Diesel has climbed to $5.66, up about $1.15 over the past month. As a key fuel for freight, shipping and public transportation, it is especially sensitive to supply disruptions — and its rising cost can quickly ripple through the broader economy, pushing up prices on everything from groceries to goods.

DEMS WHO RAN ON AFFORDABILITY NOW FACE BACKLASH AS COSTS CLIMB IN NY, VIRGINIA

That kind of pocketbook pressure is exactly what Democrats have been eager to exploit. Last fall, Democrats leaned heavily on affordability themes in state and local elections, and it paid off.

In places like Virginia, New York and New Jersey, where voters have been squeezed by high housing costs and utility bills, Democratic candidates seized on Trump’s early economic moves, including his trade policy, to argue that the Republican agenda was worsening the affordability crisis rather than easing it.

That same playbook is now reemerging on a national scale, as rising fuel costs tied to the Iran war give Democrats a fresh opening to hammer Republicans on kitchen-table costs.

OIL, GAS PRICES JUMP AS TRUMP FLIRTS WITH STRIKING IRANIAN OIL INFRASTRUCTURE

Campaigns are leaning in, tying higher fuel costs to Republican policies in ads, speeches and appearances across key battleground states.

In central Pennsylvania, Janelle Stelson, a Democrat challenging Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., campaigned Monday at a Mobil gas station where prices were $4.24 for regular unleaded and more than $6 for diesel. She argued Perry, a Trump ally, bears some responsibility for worsening the cost-of-living crisis, according to The Washington Post.

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Janelle Stelson is challenging incumbent Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a longtime Trump ally who is now having to defend rising gas prices driven by the conflict in Iran. (Michelle Gustafson for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

In Iowa, the left-leaning veterans group VoteVets is running a new $825,000 ad campaign backing state Rep. Joshua Turek’s Senate bid that highlights rising gas prices.

The message is also playing out in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed, a liberal Democrat in a competitive Senate primary, is airing ads focused on rising gas prices. «You know why gas is so expensive? Donald Trump’s $200 billion war with Iran,» he says in one ad.

With prices rising, the cost of gas is quickly becoming a central political battleground — and a potential liability for Trump and his allies in the months leading up to the midterms.