Keiko Fujimori sworn in as Peru's president, orders military to secure areas hit by gangs and illegal mining
Keiko Fujimori, 51, took office on 28 July 2026 after winning the 7 June runoff by fewer than 50,000 votes. In her inaugural address, she announced that the armed forces would take charge of security operations in areas under states of emergency, targeting gangs, drug trafficking, and illegal mining.
Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, was sworn in as Peru's president on 28 July 2026 and immediately ordered the military to take over security operations in crime-ridden regions. The 51-year-old right-wing leader, elected on 7 June with less than 50,000 votes over leftist Roberto Sanchez, becomes the second woman to hold the office after Dina Boluarte (2022–2025). Her inauguration revives the divisive fujimorismo movement and confronts an acute crime crisis and a looming El Niño emergency.
Swearing-in and immediate military deployment
In her speech before Congress, Fujimori declared that under a state of emergency the armed forces would temporarily assume control of security and internal order to "return these territories to citizens." The measure targets areas plagued by drug trafficking, illegal mining and extortion gangs that have grown sharply in recent years. Her party, Fuerza Popular, holds only 40 of the 130 seats in the Assembly, requiring alliances with other right-leaning parties to fund and legislate the security push.
In a state of emergency, the armed forces will temporarily take charge of security operations and internal order.
Fujimorismo returns after three failed bids
Fujimori had lost three consecutive presidential runoffs, in 2011, 2016 and 2021. Her narrow victory this year returns the populist right-to-centre fujimorismo movement, oscillating between conservatism and liberalism, to power. Her father, Alberto Fujimori, ruled from 1990 to 2000 and died in 2024 while imprisoned for corruption and crimes against humanity, a legacy that still divides the country.
- Lost runoff presidential election
- Lost runoff presidential election
- Lost runoff presidential election
- Won runoff by fewer than 50,000 votes
- Sworn in as president and orders military to secure crime-hit areas
A group of left-wing lawmakers walked out of the swearing-in ceremony in protest. Public sentiment is split. Franklin Gonzáles, a 62-year-old self-employed worker in Lima, told AFP:
I have no confidence in her, but what can we do: half of Peru is divided.
Security promises and parliamentary hurdles
Fujimori campaigned on a hardline platform, pledging to militarize streets and prisons and govern with a "firm hand," a reference to her father's style. Yet scholar Lissell Quiroz noted that fighting organized crime requires resources Peru does not have. "We cannot put a police officer on every corner," she said. The new president must quickly assemble a working majority in Congress to deliver on her flagship promise.
El Niño threat presses the new government
Beyond crime, an intense El Niño event this year has already forced the outgoing government to place nearly 800 municipalities under a state of emergency in early July. About one in three Peruvians is exposed to its effects, and previous episodes have brought torrential rains, landslides and many victims along the Pacific coast. Quiroz said that fear is widespread among the population.
We are very afraid.
Regional leaders attend and reconciliation promised
The inauguration drew heads of state from across Latin America, including Argentina's Javier Milei, Chile's José Antonio Kast, Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz, Ecuador's Daniel Noboa, and Uruguay's Yamandu Orsi. In her address, Fujimori called for national reconciliation, saying no government can move Peru forward if it continues to fuel division. With the immediate military deployment, she has signalled that security is the overriding priority, even as the minority government and the approaching El Niño test her capacity from day one.
