More than 30 injured in nightclub bombing in northern Peru | Crime news

Peru has experienced a rise in organized crime, including extortion, a trend analysts link to government corruption.

A nightclub bombing in the northern Peruvian coastal town of Trujillo has injured at least 33 people, including minors.

Officials said that the attack took place in the early hours of Saturday morning and an explosion took place in the club.

The circumstances of the explosion are still being investigated, but the bombing took place in an area hit hard by the rise of organized crime, a source of growing concern in Peru.

At least five of the injured are in critical condition, said Gerardo Florian Gomez, executive director of the Trujillo Health Network. Three of the injured were minors, one victim was 16 years old and two were 17 years old.

Some victims are suffering from shrapnel wounds and are undergoing amputation procedures and surgery.

A similar incident took place in the same city a month ago. Trujillo is about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of the capital Lima and is one of the country’s most populous cities.

Official statistics show a total of 136 eruptions in Trujillo in 2025.

In total, 286 took place in the vast area of ​​La Libertad, a hotbed of illegal mining and extortion by organized crime.

Organized crime is a serious problem in Peru and other South American countries, and analysts and rights groups say it has benefited from laws passed by the Peruvian Congress that weakened government transparency and judicial oversight in recent years.

The government has simultaneously embraced emergency powers in terms of tackling crime.

Last October, the Peruvian government imposed a 30-day state of emergency in Lima in response to an outbreak of anti-government protests.

The emergency declaration suspended some civil liberties and expanded military and law enforcement powers, raising concerns about human rights abuses.

“Congress’ assault on the rule of law has left millions of Peruvians increasingly exposed to the threats of organized crime,” said Juanita Gobertus, Americas director of the watchdog group Human Rights Watch, in a report published in July 2025.

The group said that homicides in Peru in 2025 will increase by about 15 percent compared to the same period in 2024, building on a trend of increasing homicide rates that will be in effect from 2021.

Government figures indicate that there were about 2,200 homicides linked to organized crime last year.

That increase has coincided with a period of political turmoil and instability since the country last month swore in its ninth president in a decade.

The country is set to hold its next general election on April 12, with a new president expected to be sworn in on Peru’s Independence Day in July.

An October poll by research firm Ipsos found that 68 percent of Peruvian voters cited insecurity as a top concern in the country.

Sixty-seven percent cited corruption as an important issue ahead of April’s vote.