On 3 March 2025, President Dina Boluarte accused América Televisión and Canal N of collaborating with prosecutors to undermine her government and alleged that the media was promoting a coup. The president defended Interior Minister Juan José Santiváñez after the Attorney General’s Office raided his home in an investigation into abuse of authority. The controversy intensified after the minister revealed in an interview that he had access to the content of a news report prior to its broadcast. Minister Santiváñez’s statements, admitting that he had early access to a journalistic investigation implicating him in corruption, are part of this pattern of attacks on press freedom and a lack of transparency in public administration. Furthermore, President Boluarte’s response, calling the press “coup-mongering” and accusing it of conspiring with the Attorney General’s Office, reinforces the government’s tendency to delegitimize the oversight role of the media and judicial institutions.
Journalist groups, including the National Association of Journalists (ANP) and the Institute of Press and Society (IPYS), condemned Boluarte’s accusations, stressing the importance of press freedom. Journalist Gustavo Gorriti also criticized the president’s statements and hinted at a possible raid on his home.
In response, the Ministry of Women issued a statement warning against the press stating that such rhetoric fosters aggression and intolerance towards women, cautioning that such discourse should not be justified under freedom of expression.