Peruvian police have identified three additional Venezuelan citizens who travelled from Lima to Caraz to help hitman Luis Obispo Diaz murder regional gubernatorial candidate and journalist Susy Aponte Polo.
Surveillance camera footage from a local hotel captured all four suspects staying in the same establishment four days prior to the killing, confirming they belong to a single organized crime ring, according to the National Police of Peru.
Investigators uncovered the network after seizing a mobile phone from Venezuelan national Ronald Toro Artila during his arrest in the Santiago de Surco district of Lima. Phone records revealed 88 calls between Toro in the capital and the device used by Obispo in the field.
Obispo was captured by police after receiving three gunshot wounds from one of Aponte Polo's security guards immediately after the murder of the politician, who was widely known by her nickname China Polo. During police interrogations, Obispo revealed that Toro directed the operation from Lima and covered all of his transportation, food, and lodging expenses.
Police sources linked to the investigation stated that five Venezuelan citizens were directly involved in preparing and executing the attack. Detectives noted that the foreign members of the criminal organization apparently had no prior relationship with Aponte Polo, indicating that they were hired in Lima to carry out a targeted contract killing.
Chimbote and Huaraz Tracking
Obispo exited Lima under orders from Toro to eliminate the candidate while she was actively campaigning for the governorship of Áncash, a coastal and highland department in northern Peru. According to statements made by Obispo to police officers, he initially arrived alone in the coastal port city of Nuevo Chimbote on Friday, September 11, with the intention of cornering Aponte Polo. The assassination had been scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 12.
That initial assassination attempt was thwarted when Aponte Polo requested security, resulting in her being surrounded by a protective police detail. In a subsequent communication between the two operatives, Obispo informed Toro that the candidate had announced plans to travel into the Andean valley town of Huaraz, prompting Toro to order him to follow her and fulfill the murder plot.
Police sources stated that those who hired the Venezuelan gang placed heavy pressure on the team to complete the murder. Investigators indicated that the client demanded the assassination be carried out regardless of obstacles, with instructions to pursue Aponte Polo to other locations if the plot failed in Caraz.
To ensure the plan was executed, Toro urged Obispo forward and announced that he would send reinforcements from Lima. Obispo checked into Hotel Las Vegas in the city of Huaraz on Saturday, September 12, but was again unable to carry out the attack due to security conditions surrounding the candidate.
Surveillance Footage and Identified Backup
On Tuesday, September 15, security cameras at Hotel Caraz in the Huaylas Province recorded the arrival of Obispo alongside three other Venezuelan citizens, representing the reinforcement team promised by Toro. The criminal group was aware that Aponte Polo had scheduled an official political campaign visit to Caraz for Saturday, September 19.
Video footage from Hotel Caraz, located three blocks from the crime scene, was later broadcast on the television news program Beto a Saber on the Willax network. The surveillance footage captured Obispo wearing the same Adidas logo t-shirt that he subsequently wore when he shot Aponte Polo.
All four individuals who stayed at the Caraz hotel declared themselves to be Venezuelan nationals, but only two initially provided their identities to authorities as Edinson Corzo and Valeria Torres. During interrogation by agents from the Homicide Investigation Division of Lima, Toro admitted that Valeria Torres is his half-sister.
The National Police of Peru have verified the identities of the newly implicated suspects and launched an immediate search operation to locate and arrest them. Investigators emphasized that all evidence gathered so far points to the five Venezuelan nationals being part of an organized hit-for-hire gang offering assassination services out of Lima.
Stolen Police Firearm Ballistics
The origin of the weapon used in the homicide provided further proof of organized crime involvement. On November 15, 2023, Police Sub-Officer Christian Arevalo Calderon formally reported the theft of his 9mm Glock pistol, a tactical firearm that had been stolen from his rented room.
According to police ballistic records, that same stolen police handgun was subsequently linked to three separate homicides and two aggravated robberies in Peru prior to being used in the assassination of Aponte Polo, demonstrating that the firearm had been circulating continuously within organized criminal networks.
