Peru's President Calls on UN to Treat Organized Crime as Terrorism

In her first address to the United Nations General Assembly, President Keiko Fujimori of Peru laid out a three-pillar agenda — crushing transnational crime, overhauling education, and defending national sovereignty — that signals a conservative, security-first posture for Latin America's newest head of state. The speech, delivered just 57 days into her presidency, positioned Peru as eager for multilateral security cooperation but resistant to what Fujimori characterized as ideological overreach by international institutions.

• Peru calls for classifying transnational criminal organizations as terrorist groups, seeking a regional and international framework to confront drug trafficking, extortion, human trafficking, and illegal mining

• Comprehensive education reform announced, including a headteacher training school, expanded digital learning, and a push to restore classroom discipline

• Fujimori defends national sovereignty at the UN, warning against external attempts to impose uniform democratic or cultural models on member states

• Peru touts economic gains — GDP nearly tripled, exports multiplied 15-fold — while acknowledging persistent inequality

Why it matters: Peru's president framed transnational organized crime not as a domestic policing challenge but as a borderless war requiring the same collective response the world reserves for terrorism — a rhetorical escalation with implications for regional security agreements, military deployments, and civil liberties across Latin America.