Peruvian fugitive Jhonsson Smit Cruz, the alleged leader of the Los Pulpos criminal organization, was arrested in Bolivia on Tuesday, September 1, during a joint operation by Bolivian, Peruvian, and United States law enforcement agencies.
The 30-year-old suspect, widely known by the alias Jhon Pulpo, was apprehended in the morning at a property in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, as he attempted to flee.
Peruvian police had offered a reward of approximately 126,000 euros for information leading to Cruz's location and capture. Law enforcement in Peru confirmed that United States authorities collaborated directly with Peruvian and Bolivian agencies in the operations that led to his arrest.
Bolivian Police Chief Adrian Alvarez described Cruz as a high-value national target. Alvarez stated that the suspect had previously operated in Chile and Argentina, and was attempting to establish new criminal operations within Bolivia.
Deportation to Peru
Bolivian authorities announced that Cruz would be deported within the day and turned over to Peruvian law enforcement. Official reports confirmed that the physical handover was scheduled at the CEBAF border facility in Desaguadero.
Desaguadero is a high-altitude border town located near Lake Titicaca in the Andes, where binational border service centers handle migration and security handovers between Peru and Bolivia.
Peruvian police state that Cruz commands approximately 100 members within Los Pulpos. The organization is heavily involved in extortion rackets, kidnappings, and targeted homicides across northern Peru.
Life sentence and plastic surgery
Cruz was previously sentenced to life imprisonment in Peru for the 2020 murder of a merchant during a robbery in Trujillo. The gang had developed extensive criminal networks across the city.
Trujillo, located along Peru's northern Pacific coast, is the country's third-largest city and the commercial center of the La Libertad region.
According to police sources, Cruz underwent multiple plastic surgery procedures to modify his appearance in an effort to evade identification by security forces.
Recent violence in Trujillo
The capture of the gang leader comes just days after a fresh outbreak of violence linked to Los Pulpos in Trujillo. On Sunday, four people were killed during the abduction of a mining industry executive.
The kidnapped executive was released on Monday afternoon. Peruvian authorities confirmed that the Los Pulpos network carried out the fatal abduction.
