According to Peruvian police, the mayor of Comandante Noel, Marco Rivero Huerta, is the mastermind behind the killing of journalist Pedro Flores Silva who was killed in September 2011 in Casma, reported the newspaper La República.

Before his death, Flores Silva said that he received death threats for reporting about the mayor"s alleged corrupt activities. According to the newspaper Correo, the journalist also had told a hospital security guard that city officials wanted him dead.

Meanwhile, Mayor Rivero has repeatedly claimed he is innocent reported La República. In April, the prosecutor investigating the journalist"s killing was killed himself.