Gaston Medina, a Peruvian journalist known for exposing corruption and extortion, was shot dead on Monday outside his home in the city of Ica. Medina, owner and editor of a regional TV channel, was targeted by gunmen and succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds before reaching the hospital, according to the National Association of Journalists (ANP).
Medina had reported extensively on the pervasive issue of extortion by criminal gangs, who intimidate bus drivers, shopkeepers, and other workers into paying protection money. Transport companies in Peru have repeatedly protested the killings of drivers linked to this racket, leading the government to declare a state of emergency in some regions last year.
The rise in extortion is partly attributed to the growing influence of international criminal gangs such as Venezuela’s “Tren de Aragua.” Lima, Peru’s capital, has been particularly affected, with over 14,000 extortion complaints filed in the first ten months of 2024. However, the true scale of the problem remains underreported due to victims’ fears of retaliation.
The extortion trade has become one of the most lucrative criminal enterprises in the region, often surpassing profits from drug trafficking and illegal mining, intelligence sources revealed.
Medina’s lawyer, Wilmer Quispe, disclosed that the journalist had received death threats before the attack. His murder highlights the dangers faced by reporters in Peru, which ranked 125th out of 180 countries on the 2024 Press Freedom Index—a significant decline in recent years.
