Journalist Jaime Alfredo Núñez del Prado Salinas has consistently accused the local mayor of corruption related to municipally-owned sand quarries.
(IPYS/IFEX) – On 17 June 2012, journalist Jaime Alfredo Núñez del Prado Salinas, director and presenter of the news program “La otra verdad”, of Radio Color and Calca TV, was brutally attacked by two men he believes are close to Mayor Iriaco Condori Cruz, whom he has investigated and denounced for alleged crimes of corruption. This took place in the province of Calca, Cusco region, in central Peru.
The journalist has bruises all over his body, internal lesions and damage in his left eye as a result of the beating. This was confirmed by the Cusco Ombudsman, Rosa María Pasos, who helped the journalist file a formal complaint about the attack and was interviewed by IPYS.
Two days after having been attacked, as he was being transferred to a local clinic, Núñez del Prado himself told IPYS that this is the third time he has been the target of aggressions, all of them allegedly linked to Mayor Condori. The first was three years ago and the second took place on 4 October 2010, when he was shot at a day after the municipal elections when Condori was reelected during a process that led the journalist to report serious irregularities.
Núñez del Prado has consistently accused the mayor of corruption related to municipally-owned sand quarries. His own councilmen initiated an investigation and requested the National Electoral Jury remove him from his position. The public official has also received a sentence for forging documents, which is pending ratification by the Judicial Court of Cusco.
IPYS condems the attack against Núñez del Prado and demands that the relevant authorities carry out an effective investigation to find the people responsible for this crime, so that they can be processed according to the law.
