Peruvian television host Valeria Piazza has condemned the harassment of cumbia singer Naldy Saldaña after an unidentified woman confronted her outside a police station in Lima where she was providing a legal statement.
Saldaña arrived at the Department of Criminal Investigation (Depincri) in the district of San Juan de Lurigancho to testify regarding her criminal complaint against César Sánchez, the former musical director of the cumbia group La Bella Luz. As television cameras recorded her arrival, a woman holding a mobile phone approached the singer and shouted hostile comments at her.
Confrontation outside police station
The unknown woman walked up to Saldaña outside the law enforcement facility while recording with her phone. She yelled at the singer to tell the truth and claimed that Saldaña had liked what happened.
The incident triggered an immediate response from Piazza during the broadcast of her entertainment news program, América espectáculos, on América Televisión. The presenter criticized the public harassment of a woman seeking assistance from authorities and warned that such treatment discourages victims of abuse from filing official reports.
Addressing viewers during the broadcast, Piazza told her audience that they saw what Saldaña had to endure outside the station. She stated that women in Peru face overwhelming fear when deciding to report incidents because the victim is routinely questioned and blamed.
Presenter addresses relationship claims
The broadcast also addressed statements made by the wife of César Sánchez Chavesta, who claimed that Saldaña and the former La Bella Luz musical director were lovers involved in a mutual relationship. Piazza distanced herself from that account, explaining that available video footage of the case suggests a different reality.
While Piazza noted she does not personally know all the unreleased details of the relationship between the parties involved, she emphasized that her assessment of the recorded material indicates Saldaña did not give consent to the contact.
Concluding her analysis of the situation on air, Piazza rejected public criticism aimed at the singer and declared that Saldaña is the victim in the matter.
