Police say diplomat Zetro Leonardo Purba was shot 3 times as he bicycled dwelling to his condominium in Lima, Peru.
Printed On 2 Sep 2025
The Peruvian authorities has supplied its condolences for the “assassination” of an Indonesian diplomat in its capital, Lima, calling the scenario “lamentable” and a “heinous act”.
On Tuesday, the nation’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs issued a assertion expressing its “deepest condolences and deepest condemnation” for the killing of Zetro Leonardo Purba, 40, a member of Indonesia’s diplomatic corps.
Surveillance footage launched by Peruvian police reveals Purba bicycling dwelling to his condominium on Monday night time, when an unknown assailant, sporting a helmet, approaches him close to the constructing’s entrance and shoots him twice.
After Purba fell from his bike, the gunman shot him a 3rd time earlier than fleeing on a motorbike pushed by a suspected confederate.
Purba was later declared useless at a Peruvian hospital. A motive for the taking pictures stays unknown.
In Tuesday’s assertion, the Peruvian Overseas Ministry confirmed an investigation was beneath approach to discover these accountable. It additionally supplied help and enhanced police safety to Indonesia’s embassy workers.
“The Ministry of Overseas Affairs will proceed to offer all of the help and help required by the Indonesian authorities on this matter and affirms that this crime will probably be completely investigated,” it wrote.
Sugiono, Indonesia’s minister of overseas affairs, additionally mentioned he held a name along with his Peruvian counterpart, Elmer Schialer, to push for a rigorous investigation into the taking pictures.
“We belief Peru will guarantee the best safety for our embassy workers, households, & residents in [the country],” Sugiono, who goes by a single identify, wrote on social media.
The pinnacle of Peru’s nationwide police, Victor Guivar, speculated on TV Peru that the assault could possibly be a focused assassination to settle scores.
“Primarily based on the bodily traits we’ve been capable of see on the video surveillance cameras, they’d be overseas residents,” Guivar mentioned.
However numerous Indonesian officers have instructed Peruvian media they doubt that evaluation, explaining that Purba had not obtained threats within the lead-up to the taking pictures.
Based on media reviews, Purba had lived in Lima for about 5 months along with his spouse and kids on the time of his loss of life.
One Indonesian embassy employee, Irwan Butapierre, instructed native media he blamed rampant crime within the Peruvian capital.
“Peru is an unsafe nation. He was calmly using his bike, not anticipating any hazard,” the newspaper La Republica quoted Butapierre as saying. “I don’t know why they killed him.”
Below Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, homicides and extortion within the nation have risen.
An estimated 6,041 individuals have been killed between January and mid-August, the best quantity for that interval since 2017. And reviews of extortion totalled 15,989 between January and July, a 28 % improve over that interval in 2024.
Simply final month, Boluarte accomplished a diplomatic go to to the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, the place she and President Prabowo Subianto celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations between Peru and Indonesia.
In addition they signed a free-trade settlement to spice up the financial ties between their two international locations.