In the last three years, Peru has dropped 53 places in the RSF World Press Freedom Index, falling to 130th place in 2025 — one of the most significant declines in the Americas region during that period. This sharp fall reflects an increasingly hostile environment for journalists, driven by state-sponsored legal persecution, public verbal attacks by politicians, and dangerous legislative reforms aimed at limiting public scrutiny and promoting impunity.

“This alarming escalation of violence and legal persecution against journalists is pushing Peru’s democracy to the brink. The government must end its hostility toward the press and urgently implement concrete measures to guarantee journalists’ safety and independence. RSF calls on the Peruvian Congress to immediately withdraw the Gag Law and the APCI Law, and urges the government to fully respect journalists’ fundamental right to investigate, report, and hold those in power accountable.

On 13 March, Congress approved a draft bill commonly known as ley mordaza, or the gag law, in first reading. It is a reform that increases prison sentences for defamation to up to five years, and introduces poorly defined new offences such as “violation of personal privacy,” which could easily be used to criminalise investigative reporting. The bill also imposes extremely short deadlines for media corrections, reduced from 7 days to 24 hours, fostering self-censorship and curtailing investigative journalism. A second vote to pass the law is expected in the coming weeks.

One month later, on 14 April, President Boluarte enacted the controversial law governing the Peruvian Agency for International Cooperation (APCI), which strengthens government control over civil society organisations, including independent media outlets that rely on international funding. This law requires prior government approval for foreign-funded projects and authorises arbitrary sanctions, including excessive fines and the cancellation of legal registrations for organisations deemed “contrary to public order or national defense” — without providing clear definitions. It also prohibits using international cooperation funds to support action”against the Peruvian State”. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed serious concern over the detrimental impact this law could have for independent media and journalists.

Lethal violence against journalists has also resurfaced. No journalists had been killed due to their work in Peru since 2017 — until the first four months of 2025 when two reporters were murdered Gastón Medina in Ica was killed on 20 January, a murder linked to his coverage of local politics. On 7 May, Raúl Celis López, a veteran journalist known for exposing police corruption and organised crime, was shot in the head by hitmen while on his way to the radio station where he worked in Iquitos, a city in the Peruvian Amazon.

The overall hostility towards journalists has been fueled by President Dina Boluarte, who recently suggested that authorities should raid the newsroom of the independent investigative outlet IDL-Reporteros and investigate its director, Gustavo Gorriti, one of the country’s most respected journalists, who was shortlisted for the Courage Prize at the 2024 RSF Press Freedom Awards.

On 6 May RSF Latin America Director Artur Romeu visited Lima, the capital to participate in a high-level forum organised by United Nations agencies and local press freedom organisations. During his visit, he also held discussions with journalists and civil society representatives to gather first-hand information on the deteriorating state of press freedom in the country.