Five Peruvian investigative media outlets are seeking to block a law they say threatens their ability to operate independently by expanding state oversight of nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding.

Last month, ICIJ media partners Salud con Lupa, IDL-Reporteros, Ojo Público and Convoca, along with the independent outlet Epicentro TV, filed constitutional petitions, known as acciones de amparo, in Lima courts to challenge the so-called “APCI Law,” passed by Peru’s Congress in April and enacted soon after by then-President Dina Boluarte.

The law grants the Peruvian Agency of International Cooperation (APCI) sweeping powers to approve or block projects that receive international funding in a push to increase scrutiny of organizations that, according to Boluarte, “act against the interests of our country.” Under the law, NGOs, including nonprofit newsrooms, must register such projects with the government and obtain authorization or risk fines of up to $720,000.

Journalists and civil society groups say the law amounts to censorship by stealth and could be used to stifle vital investigative journalism, including reporting that holds public officials accountable.

“The state has the power to decide what can be investigated,” Fabiola Torres, director of Salud con Lupa, told ICIJ. “It’s censorship disguised as law.”

In the constitutional petitions, the media outlets argue the law could act as a form of prior censorship contrary to international law and human rights treaties. They want the courts to declare the law unconstitutional and halt its application.

Peru’s President José Jerí, who is from the same political coalition as Boluarte, did not respond to ICIJ’s request for comment, nor did the congressional press office and several lawmakers.

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When Boluarte, who was impeached on Oct. 10, signed the APCI Law during a live broadcast from the government palace in April, she said it would “ensure transparency and strengthen democracy.”

“[We are going to] subject to thorough review a minority of NGOs that act against the interests of our country, sowing hatred [and seeking] to destabilize and promote division … to advance their own ideological agenda,” Boluarte said, according to Ojo Público.

Peru’s constitutional courts are expected to decide the outcome of the journalists’ petitions in the coming months. Several hearings have already been rescheduled, according to court records.

Civil society organizations have warned that the law could curtail freedom of association and expression. In June, several groups announced a coordinated legal “resistance” to what they described as a growing trend of anti-democratic reforms. Lawmakers and Indigenous communities had also urged the government not to enact the APCI Law, warning that it could negatively impact initiatives in health, environmental protection and human rights.

The state has the power to decide what can be investigated.

— Fabiola Torres, director of Salud con Lup

Foreign cooperation, which includes foreign aid, has long been a key source of financial support for independent journalists and human rights advocates across Latin America and other regions where local funding is scarce. In many countries, nonprofit investigative media outlets and other NGOs rely on international grants to sustain reporting on corruption, environmental crimes, and public health issues.

“In Peru, there has been a serious setback for democracy,” said Torres, whose outlet specializes in public health investigations. “Today, investigative journalism in Peru relies on nonprofit organizations. This has been the model for its sustainability.”

Support for nonprofit newsrooms in Latin America typically comes from overseas development agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and European Union democracy initiatives; multilateral bodies such as UNESCO and the International Development Bank; and private foundations, including Open Society and the Ford Foundation.

These outlets maintain editorial independence from their funders, yet several Latin American governments have targeted journalists who receive international support, sometimes labeling them “foreign agents.” In El Salvador, a law passed in May that requires organizations receiving funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” and pay a 30% tax on those funds. Nicaragua approved a similar foreign agent law in 2020, while Venezuela has criminalized international funding for independent investigative journalism since 2010.

Peru’s media environment has become increasingly tense in recent years. As ICIJ reported in September, journalists in the country have faced harassment, online attacks, and even physical aggression from officials and their supporters. Peru’s National Association of Journalists documented nearly 180 cases of aggression and two murders between January and July 2025.

Torres views the APCI Law as yet another form of intimidation: “What they want with this is for us to disappear.”