Mayor Lisbeth Macavilca Bonilla of the Paucartambo district in central Peru has been arrested by anti-corruption police after allegedly demanding a 50,000-sol bribe to award a public water and sanitation contract valued at more than one million soles.
The pre-dawn operation began at 4:00 a.m. on Friday, August 21, when officers from the National Police of Peru raided the mayor's residence on Micaela Bastidas street in Paucartambo, located in the high-altitude Pasco region.
Five other suspects were arrested alongside Macavilca, including her municipal advisor Jhoel Atencio Ñaupa, municipal sub-manager of studies and projects Frank Nastares Vilcapoma, businesswoman Nivea Torres Guillermo, and two alleged accomplices, Elvis Aguirre Ayra and Ricardo Suárez Valerio.
Pre-dawn raid and municipal office chase
Officers from the specialized Directorate Against Corruption, known as DIRCOCOR, executed the arrests under the leadership of Colonel José Santillán Pérez. The raids were authorized by Judge Rusmery de la Sota following a formal petition from anti-corruption prosecutor Mildred Victoriano Aldana.
The judicial order authorized law enforcement agents to carry out arrests and execute search warrants at residential properties and government offices across three central Peruvian locations: Pasco, Oxapampa, and Huánuco.
While Macavilca was apprehended at her home, her advisor Atencio Ñaupa was surprised inside his office at the Paucartambo Municipal Building outside standard working hours. Prosecution officials noted that Atencio Ñaupa had been alerted to the pending police raid and fled toward the mayor's main office in an effort to destroy or remove incriminating documents and physical evidence.
DIRCOCOR operates as the dedicated anti-corruption division of the National Police of Peru, partnering with the country's Public Ministry to investigate bribery, financial crimes, and official misconduct in regional and municipal administrations.
The kickback demand for water infrastructure
According to findings from prosecutor Victoriano's investigation, Macavilca engaged in private discussions with her friend, businesswoman Nivea Torres Guillermo, promising to grant her a public investment project titled Improvement of the drinking water and sewerage service for the Collana and Guindales neighborhoods.
The municipal infrastructure project carried an official public budget of 1,066,542 Peruvian soles. Prosecutor Victoriano stated that Macavilca summoned Torres to her office at the town hall, assuring her that the contract would be hers if she provided an advance payment of 50,000 soles.
A cooperating witness, designated under Peruvian judicial proceedings as an effective collaborator, informed investigators that Macavilca and her advisor Atencio Ñaupa demanded a total commission of 15 percent of the project's overall value, which amounted to approximately 150,000 soles.
Under Peruvian criminal procedure, an effective collaborator is a participant in an alleged criminal enterprise who agrees to deliver verified testimony and corroborating evidence to prosecutors in exchange for leniency or reduced penalties.
The cooperating witness told prosecutors that Atencio Ñaupa explicitly instructed Torres in Macavilca's presence, telling her that because the contract exceeded one million soles, she was required to pay a 15 percent kickback, referred to locally as a diezmo. He told her that 50,000 soles were needed immediately to secure the project, while the remaining balance would be paid when she signed the contract.
Illicit payments and bank transfer scheme
The term diezmo, derived from the historical word for a tithe or tenth, is widely used in South American administrative contexts to describe illegal kickbacks demanded by public officials from contractors seeking public sector projects.
Prosecution records show that Torres was desperate to gather the 50,000 soles demanded by Macavilca. The mayor repeatedly called Torres by phone to ask whether she would fulfill the agreed arrangement.
Torres ultimately handed over 40,000 soles to Macavilca, delivering 30,000 soles in cash and transferring 10,000 soles through a bank deposit. Macavilca personally sent the bank account number for the electronic transaction.
The financial deposit was carried out by Torres's uncle, Ricardo Suárez Valerio, into a bank account registered under the name of Elvis Aguirre Ayra, who acted as a financial front man for the mayor.
Uncovering document manipulation and next steps
Despite the money being paid, the drinking water and sewerage project was never carried out. The arrangement fell apart after Paucartambo municipal council member Saida Arteaga Castillo discovered a series of administrative irregularities during an inspection of the project documentation.
Council member Arteaga Castillo determined that the official terms of reference for the bidding process had been manipulated and altered to favor Torres's enterprise.
Following the coordinated raids, all six suspects remain in custody under preliminary judicial detention. Prosecutor Victoriano and DIRCOCOR investigators are currently analyzing seized financial records, electronic devices, and municipal paperwork recovered from the raided properties in Pasco, Oxapampa, and Huánuco.
