Hitmen ambush and kill reporter covering corruption in Peru, says group of journalists

Peruvian journalist Fernando Núñez, whose reports delved into cases of municipal corruption, was shot dead by hitmen when he returned from a mission, the National Association of Journalists (ANP) of Peru reported on Sunday.

Núñez, a reporter for the digital media Kamila TV, “was attacked by hitmen when he was traveling on a motorcycle with his brother” on Saturday, the ANP reported in a statement on social networks.

Núñez died instantly and his brother was left in critical condition.

Núñez is the third journalist killed by organized crime in Peru in 2025, after the murders of journalists Gaston Medina and Raúl Celis. Medina, owner and editor of a regional television channel, was shot dead as he left his home in the south-central city of Ica.

The ANP called on investigators to prioritize Núñez’s journalistic work as the main motive for the crime.

The latest incident “reveals an intolerable escalation of violence against those who exercise the right to inform. Each life taken not only represents a direct attack on journalism, but also on democracy and the right of citizens to be informed,” the ANP stated.

“They are killing us,” the ANP said in another post on social media. “Violence against the press does not stop and impunity continues to give way to new attacks. We cannot normalize it. We cannot remain silent.”

Last week, a journalist was physically attacked and robbed while covering a land dispute, the ANP said.

Violent crime has been on the rise in Peru, where 1,888 homicides were reported between 2025 and October, a 13 percent year-on-year increase in the same period.

Peru has seen a rise in crime in recent years, with organized crime and extortion-related murders taking off amid high levels of post-pandemic poverty and unemployment, along with political instability and rising gang violence.

Peru ranked 125th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Rankings for 2024, a “dramatic drop” in two years.