Detectives immediately knew they were dealing with a professional hit. The criminals had riddled the taxi with some 40 bullets, yet stole nothing from the dying driver and passenger.
But what puzzled them was the identity of the victim of the ferocious attack in the centre of Lima, Peru’s chaotic capital, last December. That passenger, Andrea Vidal, 27, was a slim, photogenic lawyer and former congressional aide.
By the time she succumbed to her injuries in intensive care one week later, investigators had begun to unearth a scandal shocking even by the rock-bottom standards of the Andean nation’s ethically-challenged Congress – a prostitution ring allegedly operating within the legislative palace itself.
Politicians initially sought to ignore the mushrooming scandal, which Ms Vidal, who was part of the ring, had reportedly been on the point of revealing when she was killed.
But public pressure finally forced them to act. Last week, they banned female aides from wearing miniskirts and shorts.
A taxi is riddled with bullet holes after a shooting in Lima where Andrea Vidal was killed – Cuarto Poder/Facebook
The alleged sex-for-votes scheme – and the politicians’ controversial response – has rocked even a jaded society that long ago wrote off the entire political class as hopelessly corrupt.
It has also shone a spotlight on apparent attitudes towards women in parliament, which critics describe as “mediaeval” and even compare to the Taliban.
One of the various lurid allegations relates to another aide, 26-year-old Isabel Cajo. While she lacks the Batchelors degree required for her post, she did previously have an OnlyFans page.
She is reported to have been appointed last year at the personal request of then-speaker Alejandro Soto. He has denied involvement in her hiring, while she claims she is the target of “unjust” attacks.
Investigations are ongoing, but the prostitution ring is thought to have been run by Jorge Luis Torres Saravia, who has been fired from his job heading Congress’s legal office. He insists he had nothing to do with Ms Vidal’s murder and that the pair were “friends”.
Bullet holes in the window of the taxi – Cuarto Poder/Facebook
Mr Torres Saravia is an associate of Cesar Acuña, who leads one of Peru’s largest political parties, the Alliance for Progress. Mr Acuña has called for the full weight of the law to be brought on those responsible for the scandal but also accused the press of “taking advantage” of it to damage his party.
Mr Acuña, who owns a chain of lucrative private universities, has been accused of plagiarising his doctoral thesis and has admitted to being banned from the United States, apparently for suspected money laundering, which he denies.
Politician accused of rape
The scrutiny of macho attitudes in Peru’s political class intensified this month after one politician, José Jerí, was accused of rape at a New Year’s party.
One of his colleagues, Edwin Martínez, who was not at the party, subsequently accused the alleged victim of being drunk, adding: “She should have controlled herself better.” Mr Jerí denies the allegation but has temporarily resigned from his party while police investigate.
Yet that forced congress to finally address the issue, this week introducing the miniskirt ban. The controversy marks a new low for what may already be the least popular legislative body in the world, with an approval rating consistently in single digits.
More than half of the 130 members of the single-chamber Congress are currently under criminal investigation for everything from bribery to domestic violence.
Government officials in Congress in Lima – Juan Carlos Cisneros/AFP via Getty
Since taking office in July 2021, the current Congress has awarded itself pay rises and increased expenses while ignoring pressing social problems, including that 40 per cent of Peruvian toddlers suffer anaemia.
At the same time, legislators have passed laws legal experts warn make it harder to prosecute organised crime. The principal beneficiaries have been the cocaine trade, rampant illegal mining and a booming extortion industry that has led to gangland hits becoming commonplace.
Recent counter-reforms include requiring a suspect’s lawyer to be present during police raids – effectively giving alleged criminals hours to dispose of evidence – and banning officers from seizing black market explosives used in the illegal gold mining that has devastated the Peruvian Amazon.
Parliamentarians have also restricted prosecutors’ ability to hold suspects on bail and loosened the legal definition of “organised crime”.
That led to a court on Wednesday revoking an arrest warrant for Nicanor Boluarte, brother of Dina Boluarte, the president. He had been on the run for weeks, avoiding pretrial detention on suspicion of bribery and influence-peddling, which he denies.
Ms Boluarte came to office representing the Free Peru party, which describes itself as “Marxist-Leninist”. Yet she has formed a tactical alliance with the conservative-dominated congress as they together seek to block investigations of Peru’s runaway graft.
The president faces multiple probes of her own, including for the “Rolexgate” scandal and allegedly abandoning office to have a secret nose job. She admits the surgery but insists that it was medically necessary and claims that her £400,000 jewellery collection, acquired on her £40,000 presidential salary, was the fruit of her own hard work.
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