Mission Moments: Peru
A country besieged by corruption, violence, and impunity
Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, was impeached and removed from office by the country’s Congress on Oct. 11 by a unanimous vote, 122-0. Boluarte was considered the most unpopular Peruvian president in recent decades. But she was not the first charged with corruption. The president of Congress, José Jerí, is next in line to serve as interim president until the general election scheduled for April 12, 2026.
Protesters outside Ecuador’s embassy in Lima, Peru, after hearing rumors that impeached president Dina Boluarte might be seeking refuge there. One demonstrator held a sign reading, “We’re governed by shame.” (Photo by Reuters)
By EDWIN MILLA, Climbing For Christ’s Kingdom worker in Peru
I want to write from a place of indignation, but also from the hope that it is possible to change history when a people awaken. What we are experiencing in Peru is not simply another political crisis; it is the result of a system corroded by corruption, taken over by organized crime, and protected by the highest echelons of power. Our country, which once dreamed of justice, development, and sovereignty, now seems to be a hijacked territory, where impunity reigns and citizens feel abandoned.
Politicians and organized crime: a dark pact
Weeks ago, in Paraguay, an alleged leader of an international extortion network was captured. The most shocking aspect was not only his capture, but also his testimony: he claimed to have enjoyed the complicity of high-level Peruvian authorities. According to his testimony reported by international media, politicians, police commanders, prosecutors, and even judges allegedly received million-dollar bribes to allow organized crime to advance in Peruvian territory. This, although shocking, did not surprise the Peruvian population.
For years, we have witnessed how crime has grown without real resistance. Extortion, contract killings, and illegal trafficking operate almost freely, while the authorities act late, poorly, or never at all. The police are harsh against protesters, but weak against crimes that corrupt consciences. This double standard has aroused anger and suspicion in millions of Peruvians.
A State Captured by Corruption
The crisis is not limited to security. Peru is experiencing an institutional capture, where the Congress of the Republic and other power structures have become tools of private interests and political mafias. Far from defending the nation, many congressmen legislate to protect each other, shield the corrupt, and ensure their permanence in power.
The case of the current regime is a case in point. After the fall of Pedro Castillo, Dina Boluarte assumed the presidency and was supported by an unpopular and discredited Congress. [Boluarte became president after her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, the Marxist party leader for whom she was serving as vice president, was impeached and arrested in 2022 for attempting to seize control of Congress and the judiciary.]
Many social sectors today maintain that Boluarte was used as a “functional piece” by political groups interested in consolidating their power, including sectors linked to Fujimorism. [Alberto Fujimori, who ruled with authoritarian tactics in the 1990s, served more than a decade in prison for human rights abuses and corruption before his controversial pardon in 2023. He died in 2024.]
During Boluarte’s administration, laws were promoted that were questioned by legal experts and international organizations for weakening the fight against corruption, criminalizing protest, and fostering political impunity.
Now, with these laws passed, many of those who supported Boluarte are seeking to avoid responsibility and present themselves as saviors, promoting a vacancy that appears to be mere political theater.
The Political Maneuver: Vacancies, Smokescreens, and Moral Misery
In the blink of an eye, Congress proposes removing the president to calm popular outrage, simulate change, and preserve its power. It’s an old political trick: sacrificing a pawn to save the system. But the people are no longer naive. Peruvians clearly see that all of this is part of a Machiavellian strategy to perpetuate the same corrupt power, represented by shadowy alliances between questionable political leaders, such as Fujimorism and other factions that have demonstrated their contempt for democracy.
The People's Response: Protests and the Awakening of Generation Z
Faced with this situation, social outrage has reached its limit. Generation Z, the young people who grew up watching the political class plunder their future, have awakened. And they are not alone: workers, farmers, students, bus drivers, entrepreneurs, unions, and thousands of families have joined massive nationwide protests.
The demand is clear and courageous:
- Shutdown of Congress
- End corruption
- New Constitution
- Total state reform
- Immediate general elections
Despite the repression, the marches are growing. Despite the fear, the people resist. Because it's no longer just about politics: it's about surviving in a country that is crumbling.
Peru Today: No Man’s Land
Peru is becoming a red zone of chaos. Extortion is hitting merchants, transporters, and small businesses. Contract killings have become normalized. Drug trafficking penetrates the mountains and the jungle. Money laundering buys off authorities. And citizens live in fear: afraid to take to the streets, afraid to report, afraid to speak out.
But there is a greater fear that is beginning to disappear: the fear of power. When a people lose their fear of their executioners those people are ready to make history.
Conclusion: We are not defeated
Although it may seem that all is lost, it is not. Peru has not died. There is still dignity in its people. The resistance has begun, and it can no longer be silenced with bullets, smokescreens, or empty speeches.
This is the moment. We have a choice: resign ourselves to plunder or defend our homeland from crime and corruption. The fight has just begun, and it will be long, but a country that wakes up never sleeps again. 
Edwin Milla is a mountain guide who has served with Climbing For Christ in Peru since 2011.
PRAYER POINTS
These are the “important reasons to pray for Peru,” according to Edwin:
1. Pray against crime and extortion
- Pray for protection for families, merchants, transporters, and entrepreneurs.
- Ask God to give wisdom to the authorities to combat organized crime.
- Pray for the transformation of the hearts of those living in violence.
2. Pray against corruption
- May God raise up leaders of integrity and honesty.
- May justice be done and corrupt systems broken at all levels of government.
- May the truth come to light and there be transparency in institutions.
3. Pray against poverty
- Pray for opportunities for decent employment and sustainable economic development.
- Pray for families suffering from hunger and need in rural and urban areas.
- Pray for wisdom for the proper management of the country's resources.
4. Pray for tranquility and peace in the nation
- Pray for an end to social conflicts and violence.
- Pray for peace in the homes, neighborhoods, and regions of the country.
- May God bring unity, reconciliation, and hope to the Peruvian people.
MISSION: PERU 2026
The church at Chalhua. (Photo by Edwin Milla)
Climbing For Christ will return to Chalhua, the Cordillera Blanca village where we built a church in 2015. That church building is in disrepair, and the church family is in need of bolstering.
“The church in Chalhua is going through a critical period: no active members with the pastor (who visits from another village) and his family as the only attendees,” reported Kingdom worker Edwin Milla, who surveyed the village in August and October. “The church’s facilities are neglected.”
We envision repair work on this house of worship and evangelization in the area by our Mission: Peru 2026 team in May 2026. A trek also is planned into Callejón de Conchucos, a remote region in the northern highlands of Peru where the ministry began its first missions in 2011 and 2012.
We ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers eager to see this church and community revitalized. Email info@ClimbingForChrist.org if you are interested in GO-ing.
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