I don't know if he has ties to the president
En el Perú de Pedro Castillo, los nombramientos institucionales rara vez ocurren en el vacío. La designación de un nuevo inspector general de la Policía Nacional —oriundo del mismo pueblo cajamarquino que el presidente— llega en el momento preciso en que ese inspector deberá conducir un proceso disciplinario contra el oficial antiCorrupción más visible del país. El ex comandante Luis Vera Llerena, desplazado del cargo, eligió sus palabras con la cautela de quien conoce el peso de lo que no se dice.
- El nombramiento de Segundo Leoncio Mejía Montenegro como inspector general enciende alarmas: comparte con Castillo no solo la región, sino el mismo pueblo de Chota, Cajamarca.
- La urgencia no es geográfica sino funcional: Mejía Montenegro asumirá el control disciplinario sobre el coronel Harvey Colchado, jefe de la unidad policial que apoya las investigaciones anticorrupción contra la propia presidencia.
- Vera Llerena, removido del cargo y acusado por el ministro Huerta de baja productividad, rechazó esa versión señalando la operación Patriota —la primera acción significativa en Vizcatán en veinte años— como evidencia de lo contrario.
- Ante la pregunta directa sobre si recibió órdenes de sancionar a Colchado, Vera Llerena fue categórico: nunca recibió tal instrucción, aunque su respuesta dejó abierta la posibilidad de presiones por otras vías.
- El proceso disciplinario contra Colchado no es inminente, según Vera Llerena, pero la arquitectura del momento —nuevo inspector, caso sensible, origen compartido con el presidente— instala una duda institucional difícil de disipar.
Luis Vera Llerena, ex comandante de la Policía Nacional del Perú, fue interrogado sobre su sucesor en la inspectoría general: Segundo Leoncio Mejía Montenegro, un oficial oriundo de Chota, Cajamarca, el mismo pueblo del presidente Pedro Castillo. Consultado sobre si esa coincidencia geográfica escondía un vínculo político más profundo, Vera Llerena respondió con una cautela reveladora: confirmó el origen cajamarquino del nuevo inspector, pero repitió dos veces que desconocía cualquier relación personal entre él y el mandatario.
El nombramiento adquiere peso por lo que implica hacia adelante. Mejía Montenegro tendrá a su cargo el proceso disciplinario contra el coronel Harvey Colchado, quien dirige la unidad policial especial que trabaja junto a los fiscales que investigan casos de corrupción vinculados a la presidencia. No se trata de un cambio administrativo rutinario: la coincidencia de tiempos —un nuevo inspector asumiendo justo cuando debe resolver un caso contra el principal oficial anticorrupción del país— generó un problema de credibilidad institucional evidente.
Vera Llerena también rechazó la justificación que el ministro del Interior, Willy Huerta, ofreció ante el Congreso para explicar su remoción. Huerta habló de baja productividad policial; Vera Llerena respondió señalando la operación Patriota, un operativo conjunto con las Fuerzas Armadas en Vizcatán que describió como histórico —la primera acción de envergadura en esa zona en dos décadas— y que el propio Huerta había elogiado públicamente.
Sobre el punto más delicado, Vera Llerena fue directo: negó haber recibido alguna vez una orden directa del presidente para sancionar a Colchado o a cualquier miembro de su unidad. La negación fue precisa, aunque no cerró del todo la pregunta sobre si la presión pudo haber llegado por otros canales. Lo que quedó en el aire —las dudas sin respuesta, el lenguaje medido, la acumulación de coincidencias— dibujó un retrato de tensión institucional contenida, donde las preguntas mismas resultaban más elocuentes que cualquier respuesta.
Luis Vera Llerena, the former commander of Peru's National Police, found himself in an awkward position when asked about the timing and background of his successor. The newly appointed inspector general, Segundo Leoncio Mejía Montenegro, shares something notable with President Pedro Castillo: both men are from Chota, a town in Cajamarca province. When pressed on whether this geographic coincidence suggested a deeper political connection, Vera Llerena offered a careful non-answer. He acknowledged the shared hometown but insisted he had no knowledge of any personal relationship between Mejía Montenegro and the president.
The appointment matters because of what comes next. Mejía Montenegro will oversee disciplinary proceedings against Colonel Harvey Colchado, who heads the special police unit that works alongside prosecutors investigating corruption cases involving the presidency itself. This is not a routine administrative shuffle. The timing—a new inspector general taking office just as he faces a complaint against one of the police force's most visible anti-corruption figures—created an obvious optics problem.
Vera Llerena was careful to separate what he knew from what he didn't. He confirmed Mejía Montenegro's Cajamarca roots without hesitation. But when asked directly whether the inspector general had ties to the presidential family, he repeated the same phrase twice: "I don't know." He did acknowledge that Mejía Montenegro now carries "the administrative disciplinary responsibility in this case" and emphasized that such proceedings are not immediate—a statement that seemed designed to suggest the process would unfold normally, without shortcuts.
The former commander also pushed back against the Interior Minister's explanation for his own removal. Willy Huerta had told Congress that Vera Llerena's departure reflected low productivity in the police force. Vera Llerena rejected this flatly, calling it a careless answer that lacked substance. He pointed to a major military-police operation called Patriota, conducted jointly with the armed forces in Vizcatán, which he described as historic—the first significant operation in that zone in twenty years. He noted that Huerta himself had praised this work, making the productivity claim seem hollow in retrospect.
Vera Llerena was equally firm on another sensitive point: he denied that President Castillo had ever directly ordered him to sanction Colchado or any member of the special police unit. "In all honesty, I have never received any order to that effect," he said. The denial was specific and unqualified, though it left open the question of whether pressure might have come through other channels or other voices in the administration.
What emerged from his comments was a portrait of institutional tension just below the surface. A police force losing its commander. A new inspector general with geographic ties to the president taking charge of a case involving the president's critics. An anti-corruption unit caught in the middle. Vera Llerena's careful language—his "I don't knows" and his emphasis on procedure—suggested he understood the stakes. He was not accusing anyone of wrongdoing, but he was not offering reassurance either. The questions themselves, and the fact that they needed asking, told the real story.
Citas Notables
In all honesty, I have never received any order to that effect— Luis Vera Llerena, former PNP commander, denying pressure to sanction Colchado
It is a lie, a careless answer lacking substance— Luis Vera Llerena, rejecting Interior Minister's claim that he was removed for low productivity
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does it matter that both Castillo and Mejía Montenegro are from the same town?
Because the inspector general now oversees discipline against the police officer leading anti-corruption investigations into the presidency. Geography alone means nothing. But geography plus institutional power, plus timing, creates the appearance of a conflict.
Did Vera Llerena actually say Castillo pressured him?
No. He denied it explicitly. But notice what he didn't say—he didn't say no one pressured him, or that the administration never tried to interfere. He just said the president didn't order him directly.
What about the Interior Minister's claim that Vera Llerena was unproductive?
Vera Llerena called it a lie and cited a major operation the minister had previously praised. It's a credibility problem. If you're removing someone for poor performance, you don't praise their work on the way out.
Is Colchado in actual danger?
That depends on whether Mejía Montenegro conducts a fair disciplinary review or uses the process as cover for something else. The complaint exists. The procedures exist. What's uncertain is whether they'll be applied impartially.
What would normal look like here?
A new inspector general from anywhere, reviewing a complaint through standard channels, with no one asking questions about hometown connections. The fact that we're asking these questions means something feels off.