Government extends state of emergency in Pataz for sixty more days

The Executive Branch extended the state of emergency in the province of Pataz, department of La Libertad, for sixty calendar days through Supreme Decree No. 137-2026-PCM, published in the Official Gazette El Peruano on Friday, October 2, 2026. The measure is effective from October 3, 2026, and keeps the Armed Forces in control of internal order, supported by the National Police of Peru, to confront criminal organizations dedicated to illegal mining and other threats. The regulation was approved by the Senate and endorsed by six ministers of State.

The extension is based on Article 137 of the Political Constitution of Peru, which empowers the President of the Republic, by agreement of the Council of Ministers, to decree states of exception for a determined period and with the obligation to report to the Congress of the Republic. The provision is published in the LEGAL NORMS section of the official bulletin, Year XLIII, No. 19554, and was issued at the Government House, in Lima, on October 1, 2026.

Background and chain of extensions

The state of emergency in Pataz was originally declared by Supreme Decree No. 138-2025-PCM, published on December 6, 2025, which covered the province of Pataz and the populated center of Chagualito, in the district of Cochorco, province of Sánchez Carrión. Since then, the measure has been renewed successively:

• Supreme Decree No. 016-2026-PCM
• Supreme Decree No. 049-2026-PCM
• Supreme Decree No. 084-2026-PCM
• Supreme Decree No. 113-2026-PCM, effective as of August 4, 2026

The new extension maintains in effect all measures provided in Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8 and in the final complementary provisions of Supreme Decree No. 138-2025-PCM, as modified by Supreme Decree No. 084-2026-PCM.

Restrictions and exceptions during immobilization

During the term of the extension, constitutional rights relating to the inviolability of the home, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, and personal liberty and security, included in numerals 9, 11, 12, and 24, literal f, of Article 2 of the Political Constitution of Peru, are restricted or suspended.

The mandatory social immobilization is extended in the district of Pataz, in the province of Pataz, from 22:00 to 05:00 hours. The following are exempt:

• Personnel strictly necessary for health and medicine services
• The continuity of water, sanitation, surveillance and security, electric energy, gas, and fuels
• Telecommunications, cleaning and solid waste collection, funeral services, and related activities
• Pharmacies and drugstores, in accordance with the relevant regulations
• Pedestrian or private vehicle movement for urgent medical care or to acquire medications

Technical support and internal order command

The decision was adopted following Strategic Technical Report No. 036-2026 EMCCFFAA/D-3/DAI (R) from the Joint Command of the Armed Forces and Opinion No. 457-2026 CCFFAA/OAJ (R) from its Legal Advisory Office, which recommended the extension starting October 3, 2026. The Northern Operational Command and the Pataz Unified Command (CUPAZ) identified illegal mining, extortion, contract killing, kidnapping, and the illegal possession of explosives as threats.

The Armed Forces maintain control of internal order in application of Article 15 of Legislative Decree No. 1095, which regulates the employment and use of force within the national territory. Military and police actions are governed by International Human Rights Law and by the protocol approved by Supreme Decree No. 002-2023-MIMP for the intervention regarding women and persons in vulnerable conditions.

Report, financing, and endorsement

The Pataz Unified Command (CUPAZ) must present a report of the actions taken and the results obtained during the extension to the head of the Ministry of Defense; the final report is submitted to the Presidency of the Republic and the Congress of the Republic. Implementation is financed through the institutional budget of the involved entities.

The decree bears the signatures of President Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi and Ministers Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde (Presidency of the Council of Ministers), Rafael Jorge Belaunde Llosa (Defense), César Augusto Astudillo Salcedo (Interior), Ernesto Julio Álvarez Miranda (Justice and Human Rights), and Guillermo Shinno Huamani (Energy and Mines, in charge of the Office of Economy and Finance). The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MINEM) remains the control and oversight body for the Integral Registry of Mining Formalization (REINFO).

The extension prolongs the state of exception for two more months in one of the country’s most conflict-ridden mining areas, where informal extractive activity and illegal economies coexist with the population. For the inhabitants of Pataz, this implies maintaining restrictions on nighttime circulation and a military presence in their daily lives, while for the formal mining sector, it means continuing to operate under an environment of military control of internal order and reinforced oversight of the formalization registry.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, Year XLIII, No. 19554, Friday, October 2, 2026, LEGAL NORMS section, page 4 (official reference: Supreme Decree No. 137-2026-PCM).