Keiko Fujimori appoints José Tangherlini as Minister of Transport and Communications

The President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi, accepted the resignation of Rafael Rey Rey from the position of Minister of State for the Office of Transport and Communications and appointed José Angello Tangherlini Casal as his replacement. The decision is contained in Supreme Resolutions N° 275-2026-PCM and N° 276-2026-PCM, both dated in Lima on September 18, 2026, and published in the official newspaper El Peruano on Saturday, September 19, 2026, edition No. 19528, in the Legal Norms section.

Both regulations were endorsed by the President of the Republic and by the President of the Council of Ministers, Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde. The appointment is based on Article 122 of the Political Constitution of Peru and Article 15-A of Law No. 29158, Organic Law of the Executive Power, and is adopted upon the proposal of the head of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM). Article 2 of S.R. N° 276-2026-PCM provides that the sworn statement of the appointed minister shall be published on the PCM website on the same date as the publication of the resolution.

The handover occurs during a week of high activity for the Executive. S.R. N° 277-2026-PCM, also dated September 18, entrusts the Office of the Presidency of the Republic to the First Vice President Luis Fernando Galarreta Velarde and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers to the Minister of Defense Rafael Jorge Belaunde Llosa, starting September 21, 2026, due to the president’s trip to New York for the High-Level Week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, authorized by Legislative Resolution No. 32741.

Resignation of Rafael Rey Rey

S.R. N° 275-2026-PCM resolves to “accept the resignation from the position of Minister of State for the Office of Transport and Communications submitted by Mr. Rafael Rey Rey, thanking him for the services rendered to the Nation.” The regulation does not state the reasons for the resignation.

Rey Rey maintained regulatory activity until the eve: on September 17, 2026, he signed ministerial resolutions N° 501-2026-MTC/01.03, N° 502-2026-MTC/01.03, N° 504-2026-MTC/01.02, and N° 506-2026-MTC/01.02, published in the same edition of the official newspaper.

Who is the new minister

José Angello Tangherlini Casal takes over the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) after resigning, on the same September 18, from the position of Vice Minister of Family Agriculture Development and Agrarian Infrastructure and Irrigation of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), according to S.R. N° 015-2026-MIDAGRI, endorsed by Minister Marco Antonio Vinelli Ruiz.

His recent trajectory in the sector includes:

• Member of the Administrative Tribunal for the Resolution of User Complaints (Trasu) of Osiptel, appointed by Board Resolution No. 00176-2024-CD/OSIPTEL since June 28, 2024, for three years.
• Resignation from that position effective August 7, 2026, accepted via Resolution No. 000106-2026-CD/OSIPTEL.
• Vice Minister of Family Agriculture Development and Agrarian Infrastructure and Irrigation of MIDAGRI, appointed by Supreme Resolution No. 011-2026-MIDAGRI.

Pending sector agenda

The new head inherits decisions already adopted by the MTC and published on September 19, 2026:

• R.M. No. 501-2026-MTC/01.03: grants EURONETPERU S.A.C. a unique concession for public telecommunications services for twenty (20) years throughout the national territory.
• R.M. No. 502-2026-MTC/01.03: grants FIBER MAVAK S.A.C. a unique concession for twenty (20) years, with the local carrier service in switched mode as the first service.
• R.M. No. 504-2026-MTC/01.02: ratifies the “Memorandum of Understanding on Air Services between the Civil Aviation Authorities of Barbados and Peru,” signed on July 24, 2026.
• R.M. No. 506-2026-MTC/01.02: authorizes the travel of an inspector from the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics to Canada on an official mission.

In both concession cases, the contract must be signed within a maximum period of sixty (60) business days from the publication of the ministerial resolution, otherwise it risks becoming null and void by operation of law.

The change of minister places Tangherlini Casal at the head of a portfolio with direct competencies over road infrastructure, civil aeronautics, ports, and telecommunications, in a context of pending concessions and an active international agenda. For users and companies in the sector, the continuity of the concession procedures and the signed aeronautical commitments will depend on the ratification by the new management of the decisions already published.

Source: El Peruano, No. 19528, Saturday, September 19, 2026, Legal Norms section, pp. 16-17 (official reference: 2556351-1 and 2556351-2).