Daniel Urresti

Daniel Belizario Urresti Elera (born August 25, 1956) is a Peruvian army general and politician who served as Minister of the Interior in the administration of President Ollanta Humala from 2014 to 2015.[1]

Daniel Urresti
Member of Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office March 16, 2020
Constituency	Lima
Minister of the Interior
In office June 23, 2014 – February 17, 2015
President	Ollanta Humala
Prime Minister	René Cornejo Ana Jara
Preceded by	Walter Albán
Succeeded by	José Luis Pérez Guadalupe
Personal details
Born	(1956-08-25) August 25, 1956 Huancabamba, Piura, Peru
Nationality	Peruvian
Political party	Independent (Caucuses with Podemos Perú)
Alma mater	Chorrillos Military School (BMS) Federico Villarreal National University (MS)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Army general
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Peru
Branch/service	Peruvian Army
Years of service	1979–2011
Rank	Brigade general
Battles/wars	Internal conflict in Peru

Born in northern region of Piura, Urresti enrolled in the Chorrillos Military School, specializing in psychological operations and defense mechanisms. After graduating with a master's degree in electronic engineering from the Federico Villarreal National University, Urresti labored in the telecommunications branch of the Peruvian Army, specializing in telematics.[2]

Under the presidency of Ollanta Humala, Urresti served as counselor to the office of the Prime Minister of Peru, and was subsequently appointed as Minister of the Interior in June 2014. During his tenure, Urresti engaged in effective homeland security measures with a very active style and constant demand for media presence, which made him the administration's main political operative and the minister with the highest approval ratings. Facing controversy regarding his media appearances and verbal insults against other politicians, he resigned in February 2015. Although he remained popular following his resignation, Urresti was confronted with murder charges against a journalist while he served in the Peruvian Army. The Third National Criminal Prosecutor's Office declared him innocent and free of all charges in October 2018, after 9-year long trial.[3][4][5][6]

At the 2016 general election, Urresti was nominated for the Presidency by the governing Peruvian Nationalist Party, but his ticket and congressional lists were ultimately withdrawn prior to the election due to low support garnered in the national polls.[7] Two years later, Urresti was selected to run for Mayor of Lima with Podemos Perú (PP), in which he placed second. Based on his performance at municipal level, PP selected Urresti to lead the congressional list for the Lima constituency at the 2020 parliamentary snap election. Urresti was elected to the Peruvian Congress with over half a million votes, attaining the election's highest parliamentary majority.[8][9]

Urresti remains a popular figure in contemporary Peruvian politics, and is viewed by pundits as a potential nominee for President of Peru at the 2021 general election.[10][11]

Early life and education

Daniel Urresti was born in Huancabamba, Piura on August 25, 1956, to a family of four brothers raised by a single mother, María Elera. Born into poverty, his family emigrated from Piura to the San Martín de Porres District in Lima when Urresti was five years old. At age 14, Urresti took upon diverse jobs to provide for his family as the man of his household, such as a newspaper hawker and at a leather factory. At age 16, he worked as a construction laborer in Ventanilla District, receiving less than the minimum wage. After being laid-off from construction, Urresti prepared to enroll in the Army.

Upon finishing his primary and secondary education at the José Granda School of San Martín de Porres District, Urresti applied among 2000 candidates for one of 200 placements at the Chorrillos Military School, in 1972. He was admitted with the first 20 applicants with the highest qualifications. Among his classmates was Juan Valer Sandoval, today a national hero who attained prominence for his leadership in the Operation Chavín de Huantar in 1996. Urresti graduated from the Chorrillos Military School in 1978, with the highest honors.

Career

Throughout the Peruvian internal conflict between 1980 and 2000, Urresti led numerous telecommunication networks throughout the Peruvian highlands as an army lieutenant and captain. In 1988, he was involved in the murder of journalist Hugo Bustíos, while he commanded an army patrol in Castro Pampa, Ayacucho. The case remained a mystery until proceedings against Urresti were initiated in 2009.

In 2010, Urresti was promoted to Brigade General, and under the commanding leadership of Otto Guibovich, led the first telecommunications brigade in the Peruvian Army.

At the start of the Ollanta Humala administration, Urresti served in the cabinet of advisors of the Prime Minister of Peru, in 2011. He was subsequently appointed Secretary of Disaster Risk Management of the Office of the Prime Minister.

In 2013, Urresti was appointed High Commissioner for Mining Formalization Matters, Illegal Mining Interdiction and Environmental Remediation of the Office of the Prime Minister of Peru. As such, he directed constant interdiction operations and greater control of inputs used in the illegal mining, in the regions of Madre de Dios, Puno, Arequipa and others.[12]

Minister of the Interior (2014–2015)

On June 23, 2014, Urresti was sworn in as the sixth Minister of the Interior of President Ollanta Humala's administration, replacing Walter Albán, and integrating the cabinet chaired by René Cornejo (and, a month later, by Ana Jara). His image as an energetic military man, who had been working since the beginning of the government in the Office of the Prime Minister of Peru, motivated him to be appointed minister, given the government's decision to implement various citizen security projects, for which needed a head of the Interior to fit in a more executive profile.

As soon as he took office, Urresti announced that he would fight crime throughout the country. He quickly stood out for his very active and talkative style, in constant demand for media presence, which made him the main political operator of the Humala administration and the minister with the most popular support in the national polls.

Management

• The capture of Benedicto Jiménez Bacca, director of the magazine Juez Justo, in Arequipa, a former police detective accused of belonging to the criminal network of lobbyist Rodolfo Orellana.
• The capture of Rodolfo Orellana and his sister Ludith, accused by the Public Ministry on the charges of land trafficking.
• Operationalization of police teams, made up of young officers in civilian clothes, called Terna.
• In August 2014, six tons of cocaine were seized in Trujillo and half a ton of the same substance in Lima in December. On another occasion, he received criticism for having presented the seizure of a shipment of 400 kilos of cocaine, which was later revealed which for the most part was just plaster.
• Along with the attorney general's office, he denounced the leaders of the Movadef (Shining Path front organization) for promotion for terrorism. Urresti appeared in a place where paintings and sculptures made by sentenced hikers were exhibited, and he had a strong discussion with Abimael Guzmán's lawyer, Manuel Fajardo, in front of television cameras.
• A blow to his image was the escape to Bolivia of Martín Belaunde Lossio, protagonist of a notorious corruption case, which involved the upper echelons of the Peruvian government. Belaunde's presence in Bolivia was released in late December 2014 by then-Attorney General Carlos Ramos Heredia, a few hours after he was suspended from his post, further fueling speculation about the government's alleged interest in his escape.

Media exposure

• He had a controversy with Manuel Burga Seoane, president of the Peruvian Football Federation, whom he demanded to seek his own receipt, for representing private commercial interests.
• He intervened in support of the Minister of Justice, Daniel Figallo, being pointed out by ousted prosecutor Vilcatoma of meddling in the Martín Belaúnde Lossio case. He stated that Vilcatoma was in the need of a psychological test.
• Journalists from Lima, through their union body, declared Urresti an unpleasant person, for rejecting a dialogue and for making fun of national communicators.
• He habitually used Twitter to respond sarcastically and sometimes insultingly to those who criticized his management or that of the government. His taunts were especially directed against Alan García, Mauricio Mulder and Keiko Fujimori (the latter two used to answer him in the same way). His most controversial tweet was publishing an image that mocked alleged women linked to Alan García.[13] When criticized for turning Twitter into a battleground, Urresti simply responded wryly.[14]

Resignation

The allegations of police abuse marked the end of Urresti's tenure in the government. During a police operation to evict a Cajamarca home, citizen Fidel Flores Vásquez lost his life as a result of the impact of a pellet projectile on the right side of the chest, and who, despite being fallen, continued to receive blows from police officers. Urresti was forced to admit that in this case there was an evident police excess (October 2014).

Another incident occurred in Pichanaki (Junín), where, during a protest organized by the Environmental Defense Front, a wave of violence was unleashed in which a young student Ever Pérez Huamán lost his life, as a result of a gun shot by fire. In addition, there were more than 170 wounded, 32 of them by firearm (February 9, 2015). Although Urresti initially denied the responsibility of the police in the act, arguing that no police force carried firearms during the security operation, he ultimately admitted that some policemen did carry firearms and would have used them. Urresti assumed political responsibility for the incident, but the opposition in the Peruvian Congress argued that this gesture was not enough and demanded his resignation.[15][16]

Although Urresti initially announced he would not resign, he eventually had to give in, despite having a high popularity ratings. On February 17, 2015, the cabinet was renewed and Urresti left the Interior portfolio to José Luis Pérez Guadalupe, until then head of the National Penitentiary Institute.

2016 Presidential nomination

On December 13, 2015, Urresti announced his candidacy for the presidential nomination of Peruvian Nationalist Party, ensuring that he had as a starting point of 2% at national-level polls.[17] The announcement was made in a live interview to the Punto Final program (Channel 5). Seven days later, Urresti was proclaimed the Nationalist nominee, alongside former Mayor of Lima, Susana Villarán and former Governor of Huancavelica, Maciste Díaz, as his running mates.[18]

Throughout the campaign, Urresti failed in garnering support above 1% of national polls. On March 11, 2016, the Nationalist ticket was withdrawn by the National Executive Committee led by First Lady of Peru, Nadine Heredia, alongside the congressional lists. Urresti disapproved his ticket's withdrawal, accusing the administration for his campaign failure due to lack of funds provided by the party, in comparison with Ollanta Humala's successful campaign five years prior.[19][20][21]

2018 Lima election

On April 5, 2018, Urresti announced his run for Mayor of Lima with the Podemos Perú party. All this while his judicial process for the Bustíos case was still being aired.[22]

Throughout the mayoral campaign, Urresti recalled his experience as interior minister, offering to solve security problems.[23] At one point during the campaign, an anonymous citizen filed before the Lima Central Special Electoral Jury a request to exclude him from race, stating that Urresti had a suspended sentence of liberty for defamation (according to law, a candidate cannot run having current suspended or effective custodial sentences). Urresti argued in his defense that his sentence was not consented or enforced since he had filed a complaint before the Supreme Court. The jury agreed with Urresti and allowed him to continue in the race. His party was also questioned for serious irregularities in its registration.[24][25]

On October 4, 2018, the judiciary read Urresti's sentence for the Bustíos case, declaring him innocent of all charges. The election turnout three days later placed him second with 19.7% of the popular vote, behind the Popular Action nominee, Jorge Muñoz.[26][27][28]

Congressional term (2020–2021)

Following the dissolution of the Peruvian Congress in September 2019, President Martín Vizcarra convened a new parliamentary election for 2020. Podemos Perú selected Urresti, who had been serving as Security Manager of Los Olivos District Municipality, as the head of the congressional list for the Lima constituency.[29]

After a brief campaign, Podemos Perú placed second nationally, behind Popular Action. thanks to Urresti's 588,763 votes, the party attained 9 seats in the constituency out of 11 nationally. Urresti was sworn on March 16, 2020.

References

2. PERÚ, Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales S. A. EDITORA. "Perfiles y resumen de hojas de vida de los nuevos ministros de Estado". andina.pe.
3. "El Ministro del Interior Daniel Urresti Elera entregó unidades vehiculares motorizadas". www.munihuancabamba.gob.pe. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
4. "Fiscal pide 25 años de prisión para Daniel Urresti por muerte de Hugo Bustíos". www.larepublica.pe. February 27, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
5. Editorial (June 1, 2015). "Sala Penal dispuso abrir juicio a Urresti por crimen de Bustíos". larepublica.pe (in Spanish). Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2020.CS1 maint: unfit url (link)
6. CORREO, NOTICIAS (October 5, 2018). "Lima: Daniel Urresti es absuelto del asesinato del periodista Hugo Bustíos ( | NOTICIAS CORREO PERÚ". Correo.
7. "El Partido Nacionalista Peruano retira la candidatura presidencial de Daniel Urresti". La Vanguardia.
8. LR, Redacción (February 11, 2020). "Urresti: más de 500.000 votos... ¿por carisma o autoritarismo?". larepublica.pe.
9. "Elecciones 2020: Daniel Urresti es el candidato más votado". January 27, 2020.
10. "Hernán Chaparro: Daniel Urresti será candidato presidencial el 2021 | Ideele Radio".
11. Reyes, Víctor (June 18, 2020). "Ipsos: George Forsyth se consolida como preferido para la presidencia en el 2021 y Salvador Del Solar cae 5 puntos". RPP.
12. Palacios, Oswaldo (June 10, 2014). "Daniel Urresti: Gobierno garantiza firme combate a minería ilegal". RPP.
13. "El feroz comentario de Daniel Urresti sobre Alan García". October 17, 2019.
14. "Daniel Urresti deja el cargo: 7 polémicas que superaron su popularidad en Twitter | Radio Capital". capital.pe.
15. PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (February 16, 2015). "Política: Opisición pide renuncia de Urresti por violencia en Pichanaki | NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO PERÚ". El Comercio Perú.
16. "Urresti no renunciará pese a denuncia que lo involucra en el asesinato de un periodista". web.archive.org. July 14, 2014.
17. "Urresti destaca que cuenta con 2 % de intención de voto". Nacional. December 13, 2015.
18. Espinoza, Carlos (December 21, 2015). "daniel urresti susana villarán partido nacionalista". RPP.
19. GESTIÓN, NOTICIAS (March 11, 2016). "Política: Partido Nacionalista retira candidatura de Daniel Urresti | NOTICIAS GESTIÓN PERÚ". Gestión.
20. PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (March 12, 2016). "Elecciones: Partido Nacionalista retiró la candidatura de Daniel Urresti | NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO PERÚ". El Comercio Perú.
21. Vicente, Judith (June 20, 2016). "Daniel Urresti Partido Nacionalista Elecciones 2016 Nadine Heredia". RPP.
22. LR, Redacción (May 28, 2019). "Lanzan a Daniel Urresti como candidato a la alcaldía de Lima". larepublica.pe.
23. LR, Redacción (May 29, 2019). ""A mí me ponen una granada y yo les devuelvo una bazuka"". larepublica.pe.
24. LR, Redacción (May 29, 2019). "JEE resolvió no excluir a Daniel Urresti de Elecciones 2018". larepublica.pe.
25. PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (September 29, 2018). "Política: Elecciones 2018: el partido de Daniel Urresti cuestionado | NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO PERÚ". El Comercio Perú.
26. "Involucran a ministro Daniel Urresti en crimen de periodista en Ayacucho – Economía | Gestión". web.archive.org. July 14, 2014.
27. "Ministro del Interior de Perú es procesado por el asesinato de un periodista en 1988". July 3, 2014.
28. "Daniel Urresti negó haber violado a supuesta testigo de asesinato de Hugo Bustíos | Política | Peru21". web.archive.org. February 3, 2016.
29. PERÚ, NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO (January 30, 2020). "Elecciones 2020: Elecciones 2020 | Daniel Urresti, los pasos y tropiezos del virtual co | NOTICIAS EL COMERCIO PERÚ". El Comercio Perú.