Peruvian criminal gang leader Jhonsson Smit Cruz Torres has been captured in Bolivia and expelled to Peru after years on the run. Cruz Torres, the head of the violent syndicate known as Los Pulpos, arrived in Lima at 5:50 p.m. on a flight landing at Air Group No. 8 military base after being handed over to Peruvian authorities in the border region of Puno.
Authorities considered Cruz Torres one of the most dangerous and sought-after fugitives in Peru, responsible for directing a campaign of extortion, robbery, and kidnapping that terrorized the northern region of the country. He faces a sentence of life imprisonment handed down by the Third Supraprovincial Specialized Criminal Bench of Trujillo for the 2020 robbery and murder of a local merchant.
Los Pulpos originated in Trujillo, the capital of La Libertad department in northern Peru, where the criminal group expanded its reach across multiple economic sectors. Cruz Torres assumed control of the syndicate after his father, Jhon Smith Cruz Arce, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2008 for the aggravated homicide of his former partner and a rival gang member. Under Cruz Torres' leadership, the organization intensified protection fee collections and expanded into large-scale kidnappings.
Fake death and escape to Chile
Following the 2020 murder of the Trujillo merchant and growing conflict with rival criminal groups, Cruz Torres sought to erase his identity. He took advantage of the mass casualties during the COVID-19 pandemic to register his own death in administrative records in August 2020. Peruvian authorities detected the fraudulent filing and officially annulled the registration.
After his staged death failed, Cruz Torres fled to Chile, where he established a new operational base to direct Los Pulpos. Chilean law enforcement subsequently reported a surge in extortion complaints targeting Peruvian-owned businesses in the Santiago communes of Independencia, Recoleta, and Estacion Central.
Investigators determined that Cruz Torres received assistance in Chile from his paternal uncle, Eddy Armando Cruz Arce. Despite facing numerous criminal complaints, the uncle worked in Recoleta and participated in a local cooperative funded by municipal resources. Police sources reported that Cruz Torres and his partner, Keysi Salvatierra Vigo, had a daughter while living in Chile, registering the child under false surnames to evade international law enforcement.
Chilean authorities launched a series of operations against the network. In August 2023, police arrested Elmer Mantilla Roldan, a close associate of Cruz Torres who posed as a street trash collector in Recoleta to secretly record potential extortion victims' homes. Chilean police detained four additional gang members in early January 2024, followed by a major sweep in January 2026 that resulted in the arrest of 34 members of the syndicate.
Relocation and cosmetic surgery in Bolivia
Heightened pressure from Chilean law enforcement forced Cruz Torres to move to Bolivia. Settling in upper-class neighborhoods of La Paz, including Uchumani and Irpavi, he presented himself to acquaintances as a successful real estate entrepreneur.
His real estate cover collapsed in January 2026 when Bolivian police raided his residence. Cruz Torres managed to escape the initial raid, leaving behind only his partner, Salvatierra Vigo. While hiding in La Paz, the gang leader underwent several cosmetic procedures at the Cemes Medical Specialties Center, including a rhinoplasty, a blepharoplasty eyelid procedure, and double-chin liposuction to alter his facial features.
Underworld feuds and turf wars
Cruz Torres was unable to return to Peru due to a 500,000 soles reward offered for his capture, his outstanding life sentence, and a bloody turf war against rival gangs in La Libertad. Internal strife weakened his organization as former allies turned into lethal competitors.
His former lieutenant, Edwar Medina Llerena, known as Kukin, broke away after Cruz Torres lost trust in him over the handling and ransom collection for kidnapped businessman Santos Guillermo Sanchez Vera. Medina Llerena formed his own criminal group and forged an alliance with the Cruz Verde gang to challenge Los Pulpos for territory. The resulting war led to the murder of Medina Llerena's brother, Gerson Medina Llerena. Police captured Kukin in October 2024, placing him under heavy police guard due to assassination threats from Cruz Torres.
Cruz Torres also faced opposition from Jolin Bazan Valderrama, alias Jolin, the leader of the La Jauria gang. Bazan Valderrama served as Cruz Torres' right-hand man until 2024, when disputes erupted over extortion payments from illegal gold miners and kidnapping ransom money. Rival gang members accused Bazan Valderrama of acting as a police informant who betrayed Los Pulpos operatives to law enforcement.
International cooperation and financial strategy
Pedro Yaranga, an integrated security analyst and consultant, stated that the capture of Cruz Torres represents a major milestone for South American security. He noted that the operation successfully decapitated a transnational syndicate that coordinated criminal activities across Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina.
Yaranga emphasized that the arrest resulted from close coordination between the Bolivian Police, the Peruvian National Police, and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. He added that the capture sends a clear message to fugitives that neighboring countries under current administrations no longer serve as safe havens for high-profile criminals.
Highlighting the nature of transnational crime, Yaranga observed that syndicates such as Los Pulpos, Tren de Aragua, Los Choneros, Lobos, and Comando Vermelho operate solely for profit rather than ideology. He explained that if criminal enterprises cease to be lucrative, they suffocate, concluding that the most effective long-term blow against organized crime must target financial networks and assets.
A dynasty of criminal activity
The capture of Cruz Torres highlights a generational history of crime within his family. His grandfather, Teofilo Cruz Alvarez, known as Fhater or El papa de Los Pulpos, was a prominent underworld figure who was prosecuted for extensive criminal ties. He died of COVID-19 in May 2020 at the Regional Hospital of Trujillo while serving an eight-year sentence at El Milagro prison following his arrest alongside members of the Los Injertos de K&K gang.
Cruz Torres' brother, Jocksel Arturo Cruz Torres, alias Pulpin, also accumulated an extensive criminal record. Authorities implicated him in the November 2021 kidnapping of young businessman Alan Rios Guevara, the son of Sandra Guevara Villalobos, who was serving at the time as a district councilor in El Porvenir.
