Daniel Urresti

Daniel Belizario Urresti Elera (born 25 August 1956) is a Peruvian retired army general and politician who served as Minister of the Interior in the administration of President Ollanta Humala from 2014 to 2015, and as a Congressman representing Lima from 2020 to 2021. He is currently serving a sentence of twelve years in prison for the murder of journalist Hugo Bustíos.

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.

During 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 who was investigation human rights abuses while he served in the Peruvian Army. The Third National Criminal Prosecutor's Office acquitted him of all charges and was freed in October 2018, after 9-year long trial.

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for the Presidency by the governing Peruvian Nationalist Party, but his ticket and congressional lists were ultimately withdrawn prior to the election due to low support garnered in the national polls.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

He ran for President of Peru at the 2021 general election with Podemos Perú. Though momentarily disqualified on 4 February 2021, he was reinstated in the race by the National Jury of Elections on 18 February. In April 2023, Urresti was arrested and charged with the murder of the journalist, being sentenced to 12 years in prison.