Peruvian Minister of Housing, Construction and Sanitation Mauricio Arnillas Gonzalez has held several official and unrecorded meetings with civil construction union leader Augusto Ramos Dolmos, a former prisoner convicted of extortion.
Ramos Dolmos, known as Cholo Dolmos, serves as president of the National Confederation of Civil Construction Workers (Conatracc). He met with Arnillas in his official ministerial office just days after the minister assumed his cabinet post, according to official records and statements made to La Republica.
The first encounter took place on Saturday, August 1, 2026, four days after Arnillas took office as housing minister. Official visitor logs at the Ministry of Housing show that the meeting lasted one hour and 42 minutes.
Ramos confirmed to La Republica that he met with Arnillas and his technical team on August 1 to raise worker concerns regarding state water utility Sedapal, the safe water program for Lima and Callao, and the Administrative Sanctioning Procedure (PAS). He claimed that officials were creating unnecessary obstacles for business consortiums and issuing unjustified penalties.
A second meeting occurred on Sunday, August 2, 2026, at around 10:00 a.m. in the minister's office. However, this second session does not appear on the official public visitor log of the Ministry of Housing.
Ramos stated that the Sunday meeting included Conatracc promoter president Carlos Chavez and union representative Cajas from Chorrillos. He said the delegation pressed Minister Arnillas on administrative delays by Sedapal and PAS officials that were halting public construction projects.
On Thursday, August 13, 2026, both men appeared together at a press conference organized by the Chamber of Commerce of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. Ramos later posted a photograph of himself alongside Arnillas on Facebook to document the event.
Press officers for the Ministry of Housing did not respond to inquiries from La Republica regarding why Arnillas hosted an individual accused of extortion while the Peruvian government conducts a public anti-extortion campaign.
Extortion conviction and hostage crisis
Ramos carries a past criminal record for extortion. On February 15, 1997, he was incarcerated at Lurigancho prison in Lima after being sentenced by the Criminal Court of Lima to eight years in prison.
Authorities accused Ramos of demanding US$100,000 in ransom using the name of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA), a leftist guerrilla organization. The demand was made during the 1996 to 1997 hostage crisis at the Japanese ambassador's residence, where former Japanese ambassador Morihisa Aoki was held captive. Ramos served two years and 37 days of his sentence in Lurigancho.
Police complaints and labor coercion charges
Police records show that Ramos faces recent criminal complaints. An investigation dated August 5, 2018, details an allegation of violation of freedom of work filed by three construction workers in the Independencia district of Lima.
The workers told police they were coerced into joining the San Juan Bautista Construction Site Committee, an entity linked through the Fenatracc federation to Conatracc. According to the police report, Ramos and co-suspect Brayan Hermoza presented fraudulent documentation to enforce a weekly payroll deduction of 10 soles per worker, which investigators described as a covert extortion fee.
In a separate complaint filed at the La Pascana Police Station in Comas, North Lima union leader Alan Otarola Maldonado reported receiving death threats. Otarola told officers that a floral funeral wreath was left at his front door alongside a note demanding his resignation and threatening his family.
Otarola directly named Alfonso Ramos Dolmos in his statement to police officers.
When questioned by La Republica, Ramos rejected all criminal allegations. He stated that his police, criminal, and judicial background certificates are clean, adding that he could not serve as a union leader if he had a record. He attributed the allegations to a campaign by rivals in the General Confederation of Workers of Peru (CGTP) and the Peruvian Communist Party (PCP-Unidad) before declining further comment.
Firearm license denial by SUCAMEC
In 2015, Ramos attempted to obtain a legal license to carry firearms in Peru. His application was formally rejected by SUCAMEC, the national regulatory agency for security services, firearms, and explosives.
A SUCAMEC official document dated January 28, 2015, cited a report from the National Registry of Convictions confirming that the Fourth Criminal Court of Lima had sentenced Augusto Antonio Ramos Dolmos to eight years of effective imprisonment for extortion.
