The National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) carried out a large-scale operation to transfer 26 inmates from the Juliaca prison to the maximum security establishment of Challapalca, in the highland region of Puno. The measure is framed within the penitentiary reorganization process ordered by the Executive Branch through Supreme Decree No. 019-2025-JUSwith the purpose of reinforcing control and discipline within detention centers.
The transfer, carried out under strict security protocols, marks a precedent in the national strategy to combat organized crime. The transferred inmates are part of criminal gangs that had extended their influence from the prisons to different regions of the country, which led the authorities to adopt more drastic measures to isolate the ringleaders and dismantle the internal networks.
The operation began in the early morning hours and was carried out by specialized Penitentiary Security personnel, with support from tactical units and reinforced logistics. The inmates, dressed in institutional clothing, were taken from the Juliaca prison facilities to the region’s airport, where they were boarded to Challapalca, one of the most isolated and guarded prison facilities in the country.
INPE sources reported that the decision responds to the need to restore the principle of authority within the prison system and ensure a controlled environment for those inmates considered highly dangerous. These are people who, despite being deprived of their liberty, maintained contact with active criminal networks and would have coordinated crimes from within the prisons.
Among the transferred inmates are alleged members and leaders of criminal organizations such as “The new generation of crime”, “The grafts of Lima”, “The grafts of the Altiplano”, “The bosses of intrusion”, “The brooches of Puerto Pizarro” and “The scoundrels of Hope”. Several of them have disciplinary sanctions for serious infractions and were classified as high risk for prison security.
The Challapalca prison, located more than 4,600 meters above sea level, has historically been used to detain inmates who are difficult to manage or involved in high-impact crimes. Its location, climatic conditions and special closed regime allow external contact to be reduced to a minimum, making it a key space within INPE’s strategy to limit crime operations from prisons.
With this transfer, the Altiplano region becomes the first in the country to launch the new prison regime aimed at rigorous control of highly dangerous inmates. The central objective is to recover institutional authority and stop the growth of criminal structures that operate from penal establishments.
The president of INPE, Iván Paredes Yataco, highlighted that this action marks the beginning of a new stage in national penitentiary policy. He assured that the movements of inmates will continue in different regions of the country and that each operation will be carried out respecting human rights, but firmly in the face of the threats posed by prison mafias.
The transfer of the 26 inmates from Juliaca to Challapalca not only responds to a security issue, but also to the need to reorganize the prison population according to the level of risk they represent. The authorities maintain that the concentration of ringleaders in common prisons has facilitated the expansion of criminal networks, so the new scheme aims to isolate the leaders and cut off their communication channels.
The INPE confirmed that this is the first step in a progressive process of relocating prisoners throughout the country. The entity insisted that the actions are part of a comprehensive plan that includes improvements in infrastructure, strengthening internal security and administrative restructuring. Challapalca, for its part, will be the initial model of this new prison control regime in Peru.
