Peruvian television host Magaly Medina said on her program that a criminal gang is threatening to kill her, her husband Alfredo Zambrano, and the rest of her family unless she hands over US$1 million in cash.
Medina showed viewers a screenshot of a WhatsApp message she said the gang had sent her. She identified the group as Los Pulpos, a criminal organization based in Trujillo, in Peru's La Libertad region, and said the message referenced the kidnapping of a miner named Jens Lara as what the gang called its "signature."
Trujillo and the wider La Libertad region have become known in Peru in recent years as centers of extortion, with criminal groups targeting businesses, transport operators and, increasingly, public figures.
The Extortion Message
Medina read the message aloud during her broadcast. According to the text, the senders claimed responsibility for an attack that had taken place days earlier in La Libertad, in which four people were killed.
The message ordered Medina to have a US$1 million life insurance payout ready in cash, jointly with her husband. It stated that the senders had tracked all of her movements, citing the Jens Lara kidnapping as proof of their method. It also said they had monitored her frequent locations, her security detail, neighbors near her new home, and the parish in the Surco district where she carries out community service, adding that they had studied her closely.
Medina Blames Jefferson Farfán
After going public with the threat, Medina placed responsibility on former footballer Jefferson Farfán, saying he had exposed private information about her that put her and her family at serious risk. She said everything had come to light because of him and that it all stemmed from him.
She said Farfán had made public that she had finished paying 350,000 soles in civil damages that Peru's judiciary had ordered her to pay after she lost a court case. She also said Farfán had exposed the parish where she performs her community service and disclosed information about the movements of her pickup truck.
Medina added that a number of footballers in Peru are linked to criminal gangs.
Who Is Jefferson Farfán
Farfán is a former Peru international footballer whose career included spells at PSV Eindhoven and Schalke 04 in Europe. Since retiring from the sport, he has moved into television, hosting the program "Enfocados."
Medina has for years hosted the entertainment and investigative program "Magaly TV, la firme" in Peru, where she reports on celebrities and public figures, often drawing legal disputes tied to her coverage.
Accusations of Harassment
Medina also accused Farfán of wanting to see her sent back to prison, after she had previously accused him of persecuting and harassing her. She said Farfán was the one who kept pursuing and harassing her in the worst way, and that she did not understand what he was after.
She said she would have no problem if her sentence were revoked and she were sent to prison, but only if a judge made that decision on legal grounds, and not because someone was obsessed with revenge.
