Alberto Otárola

On December 10, 2011, when the first cabinet of President Ollanta Humala was recomposed, he was appointed Minister of Defense.[2][3]

One of the most critical problems that the Humala government must face is the activity of a terrorist gang that operates in the VRAE zone in complicity with drug trafficking. On April 9, 2012, a terrorist column kidnapped 36 TGP (Transportadora de Gas del Perú) workers in the town of Kepashiato, in the Echarate district of the La Convencion province of the Cusco department. In response, the government launched the so-called “Operation Freedom”, which deployed combined military and police forces to the area. According to the official version, the hostages were released due to pressure from the armed forces (April 14). However, the operation left eight personnel dead and several wounded; even so, it was officially said that it was a "flawless operation." But what most outraged public opinion was the fact that three Dinoes policemen were left to their fate in the jungle after getting off the helicopter that was transporting them, at which time they were attacked by terrorists (April 12). One of them, Lander Tamani, was killed in combat. The other two were declared missing. Seventeen days later, one of them, Luis Astuquillca, appeared alive, arriving by his own means in the town of Kiteni, despite being wounded in the leg; while the other, César Vilca, was found dead by his father, after he entered the rugged region on his own, counting only on the support of the locals. Despite this, the Ministry of the Interior issued a statement informing of the appearance of Vilca's body thanks to an intense search by the police. Public opinion reacted adversely and interpreted that the policemen had been left to their fate; For this reason, they demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Daniel Lozada and Defense Minister Alberto Otárola.[4]

On May 3, 2012, the motion of censure against Lozada and Otárola was presented in plenary session of Congress for "incapacity, lack of leadership and strategy." On May 10, both ministers submitted their irrevocable resignation, in order to avoid censorship in Congress.[1]