Jezebel: Peru

Van der Sloot Sentenced to 28 Years; Could Get Out in 14

Anna North — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:20:59 EST

Joran Van der Sloot has just been sentenced to 28 years in a Peruvian prison for the murder of Stephany Flores. He was also fined $74,000. Peru doesn't have the death penalty or life sentences, and Van der Sloot may have lessened his sentence (prosecutors were reportedly seeking 30 years) by offering a "sincere confession" ("I feel very bad") earlier this week. With good behavior, Van der Sloot could be out in 14 years. If you believe Dave Holloway, the father of Van der Sloot's other alleged victim Natalee, that's pretty scary — says Holloway, "I believe he is beyond rehabilitation." More »

Van Der Sloot Finally Pleads Guilty to Murder of Peruvian Woman, Feels 'Bad'

Anna North — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 12:10:00 EST

Joran Van Der Sloot has plead guilty to the 2010 murder of Stephany Flores in a Lima, Peru hotel room. He apparently offered a "sincere confession," which under Peruvian law could get him a shorter sentence than a standard guilty plea. According to the AP, he said, More »

Suspected Virginia Butt-Slasher Flees to Peru

Erin Gloria Ryan — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:20:00 EST

For a good portion of 2011, Northern Virginia was paralyzed in fear of a man who had made a habit of sneaking up behind unsuspecting shoppers in area malls and slashing their posteriors with box cutters and razors. His shenanigans continued unabated for months, until authorities identified the man as Johnny Guillen Pimentel and the slicing stopped. Now, officials fear their suspect may have fled to Peru. More »

Peruvian Government Accused Of Secretly Sterilizing Thousands Of Women

Margaret Hartmann — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST

Hundreds of women in Peru who believe they're infertile may actually be the victims of a horrible government policy that led to them being sterilized. The country's attorney general says there are about 2,000 documented cases of women who had their tubes tied without their consent under a program meant to provide birth control options to deal with the country's high birth rate. More »

Van Der Sloot Formally Charged With Murder

Anna North — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 17:45:00 EDT

Peruvian authorities formally charged Joran Van Der Sloot today with the murder of Stephany Flores, after her family voiced concerns that he'd be freed if they delayed any longer. Peruvian law dictates that suspects can only be held for 18 months without a charge, and Van Der Sloot's time would have been up in December. More »

Bride and Prejudice

Erin Gloria Ryan — Sun, 29 May 2011 15:27:00 EDT

Lima, Peru, May 28: A women dressed as a bride holds a sheet of paper that reads in Spanish: "No to Keiko Fujimori, Because I do not want Alberto freed, Marry the truth," during a protest against presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori. Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned ex-President Alberto Fujimori, will face former army officer Ollanta Humala in a presidential runoff on June 5. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) More »

Peruvian Teen In Wheelchair After Denied A Medically-Necessary Abortion

Irin Carmon — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:47:13 EDT

It's not just in Poland: When a thirteen-year-old Peruvian girl was raped and impregnated, she jumped out of the window in despair. She was denied both proper treatment for her injuries and an abortion, as she discusses in this video. More »

Natalee Holloway's Mom Sneaks Into Prison To See Van Der Sloot

Anna North — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EDT

In a bizarre turn of events, Natalee Holloway's mother snuck into the Peruvian jail where Joran van der Sloot is being held, to tell him she has "no hate in her soul" for him. Now she's in custody. More »

Van Der Sloot Receives Marriage Proposals In Peruvian Prison

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 10:20:00 EDT

According to Joran, he's quite the eligible bachelor in Peru. In an interview published on Tuesday, he boasts that he's already received several marriage offers. "One of them even wants me to get her pregnant," he told De Telegraaf. [AP] More »

Van Der Sloot Claims Police "Tricked" Him Into Confessing

Katy Kelleher — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:40:00 EDT

Alleged two-time murderer Joran Van der Sloot has retracted his confession, according to a Dutch newspaper. But even though he now denies involvement in the death of Stephany Flores, pretty much everyone (including his mom) still thinks he did it. More »

Pictures Of Joran's Bloody Shirt Released

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 13:20:00 EDT

According to Radar, this is the shirt Joran Van der Sloot was wearing the night he murdered 21-year-old business student Stephany Flores. What you can see here...doesn't really require explanation. Image after the jump. [Radar] More »

The Evidence Against Joran

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:00:00 EDT

Police have released documents that show the evidence against confessed Dutch murderer Joran Van der Sloot. RadarOnline has published the grisly details, along with photos of the official papers. More »

Joran's Ex Gives Weird Televised Interview

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EDT

Melody Granadillo dated Dutch murderer Joran Van der Sloot in October, 2003, just two years before he allegedly killed American teenager Natalee Holloway. And now she's coming forward to talk about her famous ex-boyfriend. More »

Van Der Sloot Offers To Reveal Location Of Natalee Holloway's Remains

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:20:00 EDT

Joran Van der Sloot has been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the death of 21-year-old business student Stephany Flores. As the case proceeds, new and more horrible details keep coming out. More »

Before He Killed Her, Joran Shook Stephany's Hand

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EDT

Peruvian authorities have released footage from the security cameras at the casino where Joran Van der Sloot murdered Stephany Flores. Not only does it show the two leaving together - it also shows the moment they met. More »

How Long Will Joran Van Der Sloot Spend In Prison?

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EDT

Today, Joran van der Sloot will walk Peruvian police through the hotel where he murdered Stephany Flores late last month. For this crime, he could spend 35 years in jail. But then again, he might be out in seven. More »

Joran Van Der Sloot Confesses To Murder Of Peruvian Student

Katy Kelleher — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:20:00 EDT

The Dutch man suspected in the 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway in Aruba has confessed to murdering a 21-year-old Peruvian woman in his hotel room last month. More »

Lebanese Singer Sued For Racist Lyrics • Crowd Boos Sarah Palin At Book Signing

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:20:00 EST

• Haifa Wehbe, a famous Lebanese pop singer, has come under fire for singing a song with racist lyrics. The song is from a children's album, and includes the line: "Where is my teddy bear and my Nubian monkey?" • More »

Lima Scenes

Anna Holmes — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:10:00 EST

[Lima, November 8. Image via Getty]

Couture Clash

Katy Kelleher — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:20:00 EDT

A beauty pageant costume has sparked hostilities between Peru and Bolivia. Peru's Miss Universe candidate wore a devil costume and performed the traditional dance La Diablada, which Bolivian officials claim is a rip-off of their culture. [UPI, WSJ] More »

Women & Children First

Katy Kelleher — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:40:00 EDT

Anthropologist Haagen Klaus on the mass grave of sacrificed women found in Peru: "The blood sacrifice of a large group of women is something that is very, very unusual. It's the first time that we've ever seen this." [National Geographic] More »

Malia Obama Horrifies World With Fashion Choice • NPR Investigates Skin Whitening Trend

Katy Kelleher — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:40:00 EDT

Malia Obama's "scandalous" appearance in a peace sign shirt in Italy has led way too many people to speculate about its potential political implications for nuclear disarmament rather than a decision about fashion by a kid. • More »

Sexual Healing

Anna Holmes — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:10:00 EDT

[Lima, June 2. Image via Getty]

Purse/Strings

Anna Holmes — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 18:10:00 EDT

[Puno, Peru; May 31. Image via Getty]

RIP

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Legendary soprano Yma Sumac, the "Peruvian songbird," has died at an assisted living facility in Los Angeles. She was 86. Born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo, the singer rose to fame in 1950s Hollywood because of her amazing vocals and unique style. She chose the name Yma Sumac, which means "how pretty" in Inca's Quechua language. Sumac had a five-octave range and was known for her flawless, precise, never-out-of tune singing style. Her voice was sometimes a growl, sometimes a fluttering, piercing flute. She is the only Peruvian whose name is written in Hollywood's Walk of Fame. (Click pic at left for some embedded video, to hear her voice.) [AP] More »

Exiled Teen Says Stupid Things To Her Host Family

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Exiled Teen Says Stupid Things To Her Host Family" alt="Click here to read Exiled Teen Says Stupid Things To Her Host Family" src="http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/images/39/2008/09/exiled93008_jez_512K.flv.jpg"/>

This week on Exiled, Meleny, a 20-year-old from Long Island and the proud owner of Juicy Couture velour tracksuits in every color of the rainbow, was sent to live in the mountains of Peru. When she got there and got a look at the sub-standard (her standards, mind you) living conditions, she cried and informed her host that she didn't want to do any work. She was later offered a fried guinea pig as a gift and the next morning, threw it all up (to be honest, when I visited Peru in March, it was a meal of guinea pig that finally loosened my bowels after an 8-day stretch of being stopped up.) Sick of all her whining, her host ended up telling her that she says "stupid things." Clip above. More »

Lori Berenson, who was convicted of collaborating...

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EDT

Lori Berenson, who was convicted of collaborating with the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement in Peru and has served 13 years of her 20 year sentence, is apparently pregnant. Berenson, who married a former inmate in 2003 and is allowed conjugal visits, hopes to be paroled as early as 2010 (which will be well after the child is born). While congratulations are due to Berenson and her husband, Anibal Apari, one wonders about the repercussions of allowing conjugal visits to turn into procreational visits. Do they provide condoms or birth control pills? Allow them? What is the prison's reponsibility (if any) to deal with reproductive choice issues in an institutional setting? [Reuters] More »

Welcome To The World

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:45:00 EDT

Photojournalist Mariana Bazo traveled to Cuzco, Peru for a story about vertical birthing. Her tale — and photographs — are chilling, vivid and breathtaking. "The fact of me being a woman and a mother too was like an invitation into their world, even though I had never felt the same pain of birth that they were feeling," Bazo writes. "They always asked me if I had a child, and that opened the door for me." The mothers-to-be in the clinic receive no anesthesia. "The women scream out their pain, lying on the floor or pacing. They suffer, endure and survive in spite of not receiving anything for the pain." After she left the clinic, she visited some of the new mothers. "I had only planned to take pictures, but they invited me into their houses, gave me food and beverage, and had me hold their babies... It’s for stories like these that I became a photographer." Click here for much more. [Reuters] More »