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In Peru, going to school can be dangerous. As John Otis reports, criminals demanding extortion payments are threatening to blow up schools and kill their teachers.
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JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: At this Catholic elementary school on the ramshackle outskirts of Lima, students are rambunctious and seemingly carefree. By contrast, school administrators are stressing out.
UNIDENTIFIED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: This one tells me that gangsters are demanding that the school pay them 100,000 Peruvian sols - or about $28,000.
UNIDENTIFIED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "They send us messages saying they know where we live," says the administrator, who requested anonymity because he fears retribution from the gangs. "They send us photos of grenades and pistols." These are not empty threats.
UNIDENTIFIED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "A few weeks ago," he says, "police arrested a teenager, in the pay of a criminal gang, as he planted a bomb at the entrance to the school." Schools in Peru are easy targets for extortion. Due to the poor quality of public education, thousands of private schools have sprung up. Many are located in poor barrios dominated by criminals, who are now demanding a cut of their tuition fees.
MIRIAM RAMIREZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Miriam Ramirez, president of one of Lima's largest parent-teacher associations, says at least 1,000 schools are being blackmailed. To reduce the threat to students, some schools have switched to online classes, but at least five have closed down.
RAMIREZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "If this keeps up," Ramirez says, "the country is going to end up in total ignorance." Extortion is part of a broader crime wave in Peru that gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic. Peru also saw a huge influx of Venezuelan migrants, including members of the Tren de Aragua criminal group.
FRANCISCO RIVADENEYRA: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Francisco Rivadeneyra, a former Peruvian police commander, says corrupt cops are part of the problem.
RIVADENEYRA: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "In exchange for bribes," he says, "officers tip off gangs about pending police raids." NPR reached out to the Peruvian police for comment but there was no response. Political instability has made things worse. Due to corruption scandals, Peru has gone through six presidents in just the past nine years.
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PRESIDENT DINA BOLUARTE: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: In March, current president Dina Boluarte ordered the army into the streets to help fight crime, but it's made little difference. Extortionists now operate in the poorest patches of Lima.
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OTIS: They target hole-in-the-wall bodegas, streetside empanada stands and even soup kitchens, like this one in the squatter settlement of Villa Maria.
GENOVEBA HUATARONGO: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Genoveba Huatarongo (ph), who helps prepare 100 meals per day for the needy, says thugs stabbed one of her workers then left a note demanding weekly payments.
HUATARONGO: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: To avoid similar attacks, Huatarongo says, nearby soup kitchens now pay the gangsters $14 per week.
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OTIS: But there is some pushback. After its front gate was dynamited in March, the San Vicente school in north Lima hired private security guards.
VIOLETA UPANGI: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Violeta Upangi (ph), whose 13-year-old daughter studies here, says the children were told to go to class in street clothes rather than school uniforms. That's to avoid being identified as San Vicente students and attacked by the gangs. Still, many schools have buckled to their demands.
UNIDENTIFIED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: The administrator at the Catholic elementary school says his colleagues reported extortion threats to the police. But instead of going after the gangs, he says, the police recommended that the school pay them off for their own safety.
UNIDENTIFIED SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: That's why, he says, the school ended up forking over the equivalent of $14,000.
For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Lima, Peru.
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