Fredy López Mendoza assumes office as General Commander of the National Police

The Executive Branch appointed Lieutenant General of the National Police of Peru Fredy López Mendoza as the new General Commander of the institution, replacing Óscar Manuel Arriola Delgado, who entered retirement status upon his own request. The decision was adopted by the President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, and endorsed by the Minister of the Interior, César Augusto Astudillo Salcedo, through supreme resolutions N° 232-2026-IN and N° 233-2026-IN, both dated September 15, 2026, and published in the Wednesday, September 16, 2026 edition of the Official Gazette El Peruano.

A relief formalized in two resolutions

Supreme Resolution N° 232-2026-IN provides for the transition of Lieutenant General Óscar Manuel Arriola Delgado from active police status to retirement status, under the cause “at his request,” and concludes his appointment to the position of General Commander. The regulation also thanks the outgoing officer for the services rendered to the National Police of Peru and the Nation.

For its part, Supreme Resolution N° 233-2026-IN appoints Lieutenant General Fredy López Mendoza to the position of General Commander of the National Police of Peru. Both resolutions were endorsed by the Minister of the Interior and are based on Law N° 29158, Organic Law of the Executive Branch, and Legislative Decree N° 1267, Law of the National Police of Peru.

The legal framework of the change of command

Article 167 of the Political Constitution of Peru establishes that the President of the Republic is the Supreme Chief of the National Police of Peru. Article 8 of Legislative Decree N° 1267 specifies that the General Commander is appointed by the President from among the three General Officers of Arms in active status, holding the rank of Lieutenant General, in strict order of seniority in the hierarchy, for a period of two years.

The regulation provides that the holder of the position may be removed before the conclusion of their term only for exhaustive causes, including the request for retirement by the General Commander themselves. In the case of Arriola Delgado, the retirement was processed according to the Single Ordered Text of Legislative Decree N° 1149, Law on the career and status of the personnel of the National Police of Peru, approved by Supreme Decree N° 006-2024-IN.

The requirements verified for retirement

The file that supported the retirement of Óscar Arriola Delgado was validated by several instances of the Ministry of the Interior and the police institution itself:

• The Police Disciplinary Court confirmed that the officer has no pending administrative disciplinary proceedings under appeal for very serious infractions.
• The Internal Affairs Office of the General Office of Institutional Integrity indicated that it has no administrative disciplinary proceedings in progress.
• The Human Resources Directorate of the PNP verified the fulfillment of the requirements for retirement upon his request.
• The General Office of Legal Advice of the Ministry of the Interior opined that the request was legally viable.

Arriola Delgado had been appointed General Commander through Supreme Resolution No. 256-2025-IN, dated September 30, 2025, meaning his management at the head of the institution extended for nearly one year.

A key relief for public security

The change of command at the top of the National Police of Peru occurs in a context of high demand regarding citizen security, in which the institution deploys territorial control operations and coordination with the Armed Forces. The appointment of Fredy López Mendoza marks the beginning of a new stage at the head of the police force, with the challenge of sustaining the fight against criminality and guaranteeing internal order in the country.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, LEGAL NORMS, Wednesday, September 16, 2026, pp. 30-31 (official reference: S.R. No. 232-2026-IN and S.R. No. 233-2026-IN).