Bogotá, Colombia, September 3, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on judicial authorities in Peru to drop defamation charges filed against journalists César Hildebrandt and Eloy Marchán by a businessman with ties to Peru’s president.
On Aug. 27, Damián Valenzuela, an Argentine lawyer and businessman, sued Hildebrandt, founder and editor of the newsweekly Hildebrandt en sus Trece and Marchán for aggravated defamation in response to the outlet’s investigation of his legal troubles. The Lima-based Institute for Press and Society (IPYS) described the article, written by Marchán, as “in the public interest” because Valenzuela is an advisor to President Keiko Fujimori.
Valenzuela said his reputation was damaged by an Aug. 20 report in the newsweekly and its posts on social media which described him as facing numerous fraud lawsuits in the United States. According to news reports, Valenzuela filed his defamation lawsuit, which seeks $1 million in damages and prison sentences for Hildebrandt and Marchán, after the newsweekly refused his demand that they immediately retract the article.
“Judicial harassment along with economic asfixia are being used in Peru and other countries in the region as tools to stigmatize and silence journalists and media outlets,” said Cristina Zahar, CPJ’s Latin America program coordinator in São Paulo. “Public interest pieces should never be hidden from society. CPJ urges the judicial authorities to immediately dismiss all the charges against César Hildebrandt and Eloy Marchán in line with the international standards.”
In a post on X, Valenzuela said he was monitoring other media in Peru to “gather more evidence” should they republish Marchán’s story. In a voice message, Hildebrandt told CPJ that if he and Marchán are convicted of defamation, it would be impossible to pay the fine and would lead to the closing of the newsweekly.
In a May 2026 special report, CPJ found that judicial harassment, including frivolous and unfounded lawsuits against journalists, has contributed to a steady erosion of press freedom in Peru.