Peru's Chamber of Deputies approved a motion on Thursday inviting Prime Minister Luis Galarreta, Interior Minister César Astudillo and Defense Minister Rafael Belaunde to appear before the full Lower House to explain the government's plan for tackling the country's security crisis.
The three officials are expected to set out before congressmen the actions the Executive has taken in the fight against crime, according to the motion approved in the Chamber of Deputies.
The motion passed with 71 votes in favor and 50 against. Most of the favorable votes came from opposition benches, while the parties Fuerza Popular and Renovación Popular rejected the request.
Peru returned to a bicameral legislature in 2026, when a Chamber of Deputies and a Senate replaced the single-chamber Congress that had operated in the country since the 1990s. Motions to summon Cabinet ministers, such as the one approved this week, are put to a vote in the full Chamber.
Opposition Says Government Has Failed on Security
Defending the motion, Deputy Catherin Palomino of the Juntos por el Perú party said the measures taken so far had not produced tangible results for ordinary citizens.
Palomino said the president had promised a firm hand and order, but that none of that had happened. She said the president's own actions now contradicted her rhetoric and revealed the true face of fujimorismo. Peru did not need a president who made big announcements, she said, but a government that was coherent between what it said and what it did.
Juntos por el Perú sits in opposition in Peru's Congress. Fuerza Popular and Renovación Popular, the two parties that voted against the summons, are aligned with the current government.
Ministers Under Fire Over Trujillo Attack
Both ministers have faced criticism in recent weeks. After an attack in the city of Trujillo, in northern Peru, that left four people dead, Galarreta announced the deployment of police officers and said Belaunde would travel to the region to coordinate the response with the Armed Forces.
The handling of the crisis drew criticism from several sectors, which alleged a lack of coordinated action and effectiveness in the investigations that followed.
Belaunde Faces Conflict of Interest Questions
Belaunde, the Defense Minister, has accumulated controversies on several fronts. He has faced questions over alleged ties to the company Paltarumi, after it emerged that a relative of his sits on the firm's board of directors, raising the possibility of a conflict of interest. Belaunde did not disclose this relationship in his sworn declaration of assets and interests.
Belaunde's presence in Trujillo during the response also drew attention to the absence of Interior Minister Astudillo from the scene. According to official statements, Astudillo was unable to attend because he was dealing with personal matters.
Photos Show Belaunde at Police Interrogations
More recently, Belaunde was drawn into a separate controversy over his involvement in police proceedings against suspects detained over the Trujillo attack. Photographs circulated publicly showing the minister alongside Óscar Arriola, then the general commander of Peru's National Police, during the interventions.
Keiko Fujimori, the leader of Fuerza Popular, later denied that Belaunde had interrogated the detainees.
Galarreta, Astudillo and Belaunde are due to appear before the Chamber of Deputies to answer congressmen's questions on the government's security strategy.
