Alberto Otárola

Luis Alberto Otárola Peñaranda (born 12 February 1967) is a Peruvian attorney and politician who currently serves as Prime Minister of Peru. He previously served as Minister of Defense twice, under Ollanta Humala and Dina Boluarte.

Political career

Presidency of Ollanta Humala

Minister of Defense (2011–2012)

On 10 December 2011, when the first cabinet of President Ollanta Humala was recomposed, he was appointed Minister of Defense.

One of the most critical problems that the Humala government must face is the activity of a terrorist gang that operates in the VRAE zone in complicity with drug trafficking. On 9 April 2012, a terrorist column kidnapped 36 TGP (Transportadora de Gas del Perú) workers in the town of Kepashiato, in the Echarate district of the La Convencion province of the Cusco department. In response, the government launched the so-called "Operation Freedom", which deployed combined military and police forces to the area.

According to the official version, the hostages were released due to pressure from the armed forces (14 April). However, the operation left eight personnel dead and several wounded; even so, it was officially said that it was a "flawless operation." But what most outraged public opinion was the fact that three Dinoes policemen were left to their fate in the jungle after getting off the helicopter that was transporting them, at which time they were attacked by terrorists (12 April). One of them, Lander Tamani, was killed in combat. The other two were declared missing. Seventeen days later, one of them, Luis Astuquillca, appeared alive, arriving by his own means in the town of Kiteni, despite being wounded in the leg; while the other, César Vilca, was found dead by his father, after he entered the rugged region on his own, counting only on the support of the locals. Despite this, the Ministry of the Interior issued a statement informing of the appearance of Vilca's body thanks to an intense search by the police.

Public opinion reacted adversely and interpreted that the policemen had been left to their fate; for this reason, they demanded the resignation of Otárola and the Minister of Interior, Daniel Lozada.

On 3 May 2012, the motion of censure against Otárola and Lozada was presented in plenary session of Congress for "incapacity, lack of leadership and strategy." On 10 May, both ministers submitted their resignations, in order to avoid censorship in Congress. Their resignations were accepted by president Humala on 14 May 2012.

Drug control activities

Between 2014 and 2016, Otárola was the director of DEVIDA, the Peruvian government's drug control administration.

In April 2016, Otárola was elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as one of the 13 members of the International Narcotics Control Board, an independent treaty body attached to the United Nations. His five-year term mandate begun on 2 March 2017 and expired on 1 March 2022.

Otárola attempted a political comeback as Ollanta Humala's second running mate and a Nationalist Party congressional candidate at the 2021 general election, although he ticket placed tenth in the election and was not successful in his run for the Peruvian Congress.

Presidency of Dina Boluarte

Second stint as Minister of Defense (2022)

Following Pedro Castillo's removal from the Peruvian presidency, Dina Boluarte appointed Otárola to the cabinet as Minister of Defense, on 10 December 2022.

Premiership (2022–present)

Less than two weeks into Boluarte's presidency, on 21 December 2022, she appointed Otárola as Prime Minister, succeeding Pedro Angulo Arana.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otarola, Alberto
Living people
1967 births
20th-century Peruvian politicians
21st-century Peruvian politicians
Union for Peru politicians
Peruvian Nationalist Party politicians
Peruvian people of Italian descent
Defense ministers of Peru
University of San Martín de Porres alumni
People from Ancash Region
20th-century Peruvian lawyers