Peruvian journalist and political candidate Susy Aponte Polo, known as "la China Polo," was shot in the head on September 19 while walking through the Caraz market, north of Lima. This occurred during a period of local elections scheduled for October 4. Aponte had previously warned on social media about threats she had received, and on September 10, she claimed to have received calls from three prisons informing her of a planned assassination. She attributed these threats to Víctor Revoredo Farfán, the head of the Criminal Investigations Directorate (Dirincri), and had also publicly criticized high-ranking police officials, accusing them of criminal behavior such as kidnapping and drug trafficking. Hours before her death, Aponte had spoken about a report on the background of Lalo Villa, a mayoral candidate in Huaraz, and had raised concerns about irregularities in construction projects in Chiclayo. Following her death, prosecutors opened an investigation for femicide, later expanding it to "commissioned murder." A Venezuelan national, along with two others, was arrested as the suspected hitman. The weapon used in the killing had been reported stolen from a police officer in 2023. Aponte's death has been linked to a broader rise in criminal activity across Peru. Local media have expressed concern over the increasing levels of crime and the perceived lack of accountability for those involved. Her death adds to the list of journalists killed in the country, including Gastón Medina, director of Cadena Sur TV, who was killed in January 2025, and Raúl Celis López, a radio host in Iquitos. The government of Keiko Fujimori did not respond to Aponte's assassination, but on September 20, it reassigned Víctor Revoredo to a different position. The opposition party, Buen Gobierno, called on the Ministry of the Interior to provide public explanations, questioning whether Peru is becoming a "narco-state." The government had declared a state of emergency and increased military presence fifty-five days prior, but the effectiveness of these measures in ensuring electoral security remains unverified.