A group of unidentified individuals bought off copies of the Perú 21 newspaper from newsstands in the district of Chosica, east of Lima, on January 3 ostensibly to stop the public from learning about allegations of fuel trafficking involving authorities and 27 police officers in the district, the Lima-based Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) has reported.
According to journalist Elizabeth Salinas and the Secretary General of the Chosica Newspaper Seller's Association, Eladio Robles, the unidentified individuals were probably members of the municipal police (Serenazgo), sent by the mayor, Luis Bueno Quino. Quino has been mayor for five consecutive terms and faces allegations of being involved in the fuel trafficking scheme.
In July 2008, the mayor also ordered all copies of the newspaper El Comercio be bought after it published witness accounts involving him in cases of abuse of authority, sexual harassment and the transmission of contagious diseases by forcing several of the municipality's workers to have sexual relations with him in exchange for not being fired, even though he knew he was a carrier of the HIV virus.
IPYS condemned this attempt to restrict the publication of information that affects the reputation of mayor Quino.
