Government declares 60 days of emergency in Alto Nanay due to illegal mining

The Government declared a state of emergency for sixty calendar days in the district of Alto Nanay, province of Maynas, department of Loreto, to combat illegal mining, related crimes, and organized crime. The decision was formalized through Supreme Decree No. 136-2026-PCM, published in the Legal Norms section of the official newspaper El Peruano on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The National Police of Peru maintains control of internal order with support actions from the Armed Forces.

The decree was signed at the Government House in Lima on September 22, 2026, by Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde, first vice president of the Republic and acting head of the Presidency. It is endorsed by the president of the Council of Ministers, Rafael Jorge Belaunde Llosa; the Minister of the Interior, César Augusto Astudillo Salcedo; the Minister of Defense; and the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Ernesto Julio Álvarez Miranda.

The measure responds to the request of the General Command of the National Police of Peru, formulated through Official Letter No. 921-2026-CG PNP/SEC dated September 16, 2026, and is based on Report No. 190-2026-COMOPPOL/DIRNOS-EM.UNIPLA (classified), dated September 15, and Administrative Report No. 12-2026-DIRNOS PNP/REGPOL LORETO-EM UNIPLEDU.APA (classified), dated September 14, from the Loreto Police Region. Opinion No. 1487-A-2026-SECEJE/DIRASJUR-DIVDJPN, dated September 16, from the Legal Advisory Directorate of the PNP, completed the processing.

Suspension of constitutional guarantees

During the term of the emergency, the exercise of constitutional rights relating to the following is restricted or suspended:

• The inviolability of the home.
• Freedom of movement throughout the national territory.
• Freedom of assembly.
• Personal liberty and security.

These correspond to numerals 9, 11, 12, and 24, section f, of Article 2 of the Political Constitution of Peru, pursuant to numeral 1 of Article 137. Religious, cultural, sporting, and non-sporting activities of a massive nature will require prior permission from the competent authorities; those that are not massive may be carried out without authorization.

Operations and measures during the emergency

The integrated forces—National Police of Peru, in charge of internal order, with the support of the Armed Forces—will execute:

• Permanent, deterrent, and unannounced patrols in strategic areas.
• Identity control operations in buildings (including forced entry if necessary), public roads, and public and private transportation.
• Search and capture of wanted persons through identity checks.
• Intervention and impoundment of vehicles with forged documentation or illegible license plates.
• Seizure operations for weapons, ammunition, illegal explosives, and pyrotechnics, with the participation of the Crime Prevention Prosecutor’s Office.
• Operations against controlled chemical precursors.
• Identity verification of foreigners by Migrations, using the Special Exceptional Administrative Sanctioning Procedure (PASEE).

The intervention is governed by Legislative Decree No. 1186 and Legislative Decree No. 1095, as well as the joint action protocol approved by Supreme Decree No. 002-2023-MIMP.

Deadlines, report, and financing

Once the sixty days have elapsed, the National Police of Peru shall inform the head of the Ministry of the Interior, through the General Command, regarding the results obtained, within the following five business days. The final report will be submitted to the Presidency of the Republic with the corresponding recommendations.

Implementation is financed through the institutional budget of the involved entities. The duration of the state of emergency shall not exceed sixty days, and its extension requires approval from the Senate, according to Article 137 of the Constitution.

The declaration directly affects the inhabitants of Alto Nanay, who for two months will live with suspended guarantees and subject to identity control operations, seizure of weapons, and chemical precursors within their jurisdiction. The decree also establishes an accountability mechanism: the National Police of Peru must report the results of the intervention to the Ministry of the Interior and the Presidency of the Republic, turning the area into an observation point for the state’s fight against illegal mining in the Amazon.

Source: El Peruano, Legal Norms, Year XLIII - No. 19536, Wednesday, September 23, 2026, page 4 (official reference: 2557331-1).