Peru and Poland are tightening the screws: If someone is wanted for serious crimes in one of the two countries and flees to the other, they should in future be extraditable based on a clearer bilateral legal framework. The two states signed a new extradition treaty in New York. However, the meeting was about far more than just wanted criminals. The economy, energy, the environment, and even Antarctica are now on the joint agenda.
Peruvian Foreign Minister Carlos Espá and Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski signed the agreement on September 21, 2026, in New York. Both politicians are there in connection with the 81st UN General Assembly. This provides new substance to a relationship that, for many Peruvians and Poles, has previously hardly been in the spotlight. A broader introduction to the country, its regions, and current topics can be found in the Peru Overview by PeruMagazin.
ANYONE FLEEING TO POLAND OR PERU WILL HAVE A HARDER TIME
The new extradition treaty is intended to strengthen cooperation in combating transnational organized crime, terrorism, corruption, and impunity. This is not just about handing over a wanted person from one state to the other. According to the Peruvian government, the agreement also covers the seizure of items, documents, and evidence. Organized crime is also a key security issue within Peru, which PeruMagazin explores in more detail on the Security in Peru page.
At the same time, procedures are to be simplified. Certain documents will no longer need to go through previous legalization processes and other formalities. This may sound like dry administrative law. However, in an international criminal case, it is precisely such processes that can determine how quickly authorities can work together.
UNTIL RECENTLY, THERE WAS NOT EVEN A BILATERAL EXTRADITION TREATY
The timing is remarkable. As recently as May 20, 2026, the Peruvian government explicitly stated in a specific extradition case that there was no bilateral extradition treaty between Peru and Poland. At the time, the case involved a Polish citizen whose extradition from Peru to Poland was approved.
According to official Peruvian documents, the man was to serve sentences in Poland for offenses including fraud, participation in a criminal organization, trafficking in significant quantities of psychotropic substances, and burglary. Because no bilateral extradition treaty existed, the proceedings were based on international UN conventions, Peruvian law, and the principle of reciprocity. Only four months later, a dedicated extradition treaty now exists between the two countries.
PERU HAD ALSO PREVIOUSLY REQUESTED A MAN FROM POLAND
The connection also works in the other direction. As early as 2025, Peru had requested the active extradition of a Polish citizen to be prosecuted in Peru on suspicion of illegal drug trafficking. In this case, too, it was officially noted that there was no bilateral extradition treaty between Peru and Poland.
This illustrates why the new agreement is not merely diplomatic symbolism. There had already been specific cases between the two states where exactly this legal issue played a role.
THE TREATY DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT
Peru and Poland have been working on closer criminal law cooperation for some time. As early as April 2024, delegations from both countries negotiated in Lima on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The Polish Public Prosecutor's Office explicitly stated at the time that the draft extradition treaty submitted by Peru had also been discussed.
Both sides saw the need to create binding legal rules for the extradition of wanted persons. Further talks followed in 2025. Now, the extradition treaty has been signed in New York. Years of negotiations have thus resulted in a concrete bilateral instrument.
BUT THEN THE MEETING SUDDENLY BECOMES EVEN MORE INTERESTING
Anyone who believes that Peru and Poland only talked about criminals in New York overlooks the second part of the announcement. Both foreign ministers also discussed the further implementation of a bilateral roadmap already agreed upon in 2025.
And that goes much further. A Polish economic delegation is set to visit Peru to advance economic cooperation between the two countries. Furthermore, talks are underway on a Memorandum of Understanding between the environment ministries of both states. But the list of topics did not end even there.
ENERGY SECURITY AND ANTARCTIC RESEARCH
Peru and Poland also want to work more closely on energy security. This point in particular could become interesting in the long term. Peru possesses significant natural resources while simultaneously pursuing the expansion of its energy supply. Poland, in turn, has a large European energy and industrial sector and is itself in the midst of a far-reaching restructuring of its energy supply.
What concrete joint projects will emerge from this remains open for now. The foreign ministers have discussed cooperation; no concrete investments or finalized energy projects were announced at the meeting.
Even more unusual is another point: Antarctic research. Both Peru and Poland are scientifically active in Antarctica. Peru operates the Machu Picchu research station there, and Poland the Henryk Arctowski station. Anyone who thinks of the famous Inca city when hearing the name Machu Picchu will find detailed information at PeruMagazin about the actual Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. This indeed provides a common field of research that, at first glance, hardly anyone would associate with the relations between Lima and Warsaw.
FROM LIMA VIA WARSAW TO ANTARCTICA
The meeting in New York therefore shows a development that goes beyond a single extradition treaty. At its core is a very concrete question: How can two states work together faster and with more legal certainty when a wanted person has crossed the border? For this, Peru and Poland have now signed a dedicated agreement.
In parallel, however, both governments are attempting to expand their relations into other areas: the economy, the environment, energy, and science. Thus, a previously little-noticed connection between a South American and a Central European state is step-by-step developing into broader cooperation.
THE HARD FACTS
On September 21, 2026, the extradition treaty was signed in New York by Peruvian Foreign Minister Carlos Espá and Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. The focus is on combating organized transnational crime, terrorism, corruption, and impunity. Additionally, there are regulations regarding the seizure or transmission of items, documents, and evidence, as well as the simplification of administrative procedures.
The history dates back several years. 2024 saw negotiations in Lima on closer criminal law cooperation and the planned extradition treaty. 2025, Peru requested the extradition of a Polish citizen from Poland in a specific case. In May 2026, Peru approved the extradition of a Polish citizen to Poland – at that time, still expressly without a bilateral extradition treaty.
Beyond cooperation in criminal law, other topics are now on the agenda. These include a planned Polish economic delegation to Peru as well as talks on environmental cooperation, energy security, and joint interests in Antarctic research.
A TREATY COULD BECOME SOMETHING MORE
The extradition treaty is, first and foremost, a tool for police, public prosecutors, the judiciary, and governments. Its practical significance will be measured by how it is applied in future cases. Politically, what is emerging alongside it is perhaps more interesting.
If the announced economic delegation actually comes to Peru, the environment ministries advance their agreement, and the talks on energy and research lead to concrete projects, then looking back, September 21, 2026, could prove to be more than just the day two foreign ministers signed an extradition treaty. In any case, Peru and Poland have opened a door. Now it remains to be seen what both states make of it.
Image source: Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina, Peru–Poland, December 14, 2023.
