A Peruvian journalist received a death threat and was told to stop investigating Corina de la Cruz, the mayor of Tocache in the region of San Martín, according to the news agency Inforegion.
Journalist Moisés Campos, director and host of the weekly news program Noticias TV, told the Press and Society Institute (IPYS in Spanish) that thethreat came in the form of a pamphlet slid under the door of his home on Jan. 25.
According to the site Clases de Periodismo, Campos published an interview with the latest leader of the terrorist group Sendero Luminoso, Artemio. In the interview, Artemio denied accusations the mayor had leveled against him, saying he was behind a series of extorsions and payments in exchange for her safety.
After the interview was published, the community of Tocache called for the mayor's ouster, reported Crónica Viva. In another story Campos wrote, published in December, he reported on the mayor's alleged involvement in misappropriation of city funds, Crónica Viva explained.
Following the stories Campos began receiving threats from Francisco de la Cruz, the mayor's brother and the host of a local radio program, according to IPYS.
Campos is not the first journalist to be threatened after reporting on the mayor. In August 2011, Ketty Vela, journalist for TV San Juan in Tocache, was threatened after reporting on the mayor's supposed links with drug trafficking.
