The Vatican confirmed on August 5, 2026 that Pope Leo XIV will travel to Peru from November 11-17 as part of his first trip to Latin America as pontiff; the full tour also includes Uruguay and Argentina; Leo XIV served as a missionary and bishop in Peru for nearly two decades before his election; Peru's foreign ministry issued an official statement of jubilation; cities on the Peruvian leg include Lima, Chiclayo, Cusco and Pucallpa
A small tourist plane crashed into a field near the city of Nazca in southern Peru on August 1 while flying over the Nazca Lines UNESCO archaeological site, killing all 13 people on board, including 11 passengers and two pilots; at least seven of the dead were Italian nationals, Euronews and Il Sole 24 Ore confirmed on August 2; the aircraft lost contact with the control tower shortly after takeoff, and sightseeing flights over the Nazca Lines were suspended as Peruvian authorities opened an investigation into the cause.
Keiko Fujimori, leader of Fuerza Popular, is set to be inaugurated as Peru's first woman president on July 28, Peru's national independence day, after winning the June runoff by under 50,000 votes; her party has already secured the Senate presidency, a US delegation from President Trump has arrived in Lima, and the incoming government faces immediate pressure on economic policy and political stability after five years of revolving-door leadership
Keiko Fujimori is set to be inaugurated as Peru's president on July 28, and on July 23 announced her first Cabinet of Ministers meeting for July 29 to address security measures. A separate dispute over who holds executive power on July 27, the day before the handover, added procedural tension to the transition period.
A 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck Saturday night near Sicaya in Peru's Junin region, killing at least six people, injuring more than 30 and displacing around 300; adobe buildings and a local church collapsed, and Peru's civil defence institute said the number of missing remained unknown.
Peru's National Election Jury (JNE) formally hands Keiko Fujimori her credential as president-elect at the Gran Teatro Nacional in Lima on July 15, the final procedural step before her inauguration on July 28; vice presidents Miguel Angel Torres and Luis Galarreta receive their credentials at the same ceremony.
Electoral authorities declared Fujimori the winner of the June 7 runoff on June 29 by fewer than 50,000 votes out of 18 million cast, making her Peru's first woman president-elect; left-wing rival Roberto Sánchez refused to concede and alleged fraud, raising the prospect of a disputed transition
The global supply chains moving cocaine from South America's Andean coca zones to North American, European, and emerging markets, the defining geography of transnational organized crime.
Criminal extraction and trafficking of gold outside licensing rules funds Sahel insurgencies and launders drug proceeds across Latin America and South-East Asia, accelerated by record prices.
Months after Congress ousted Boluarte, a fragmented 35-candidate field narrows to far-right Keiko Fujimori versus the left's Roberto Sánchez
Brazilian artisanal permits laundered 25 tonnes of gold from likely-illegal sites; mercury contamination pushes deeper into Cusco and Puno
Peru's Ministry of Foreign Trade reported on 1 May 2026 that Q1 2026 total exports reached a record US$27.217 billion, a 33.5% increase year-on-year, with copper volumes rising 3.3% and gold revenues lifted by high global prices; 21 of Peru's 25 regions posted economic growth in the quarter
Peru's Congress impeached President Dina Boluarte on 8 February 2026 for constitutional abandonment, installed José Jeri as interim president, then replaced him with Cristina Balcázar on 19 February after questions about Jeri's eligibility; Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular won the most first-round votes in the June 2026 election with results expected by early July