LIMA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Peruvian President Dina Boluarte on Monday appointed Julio Diaz Zulueta as the new Interior Minister.

Diaz Zulueta, a retired police general, pledged to fight the rising cases of theft, extortion and murder in Peru. The new minister is tasked with improving the ministry's anti-crime strategy after his predecessor Juan Jose Santivanez was recently censured by Congress and deemed "incapable" of stemming the growing wave of violence in Peru.

Peru's crime wave came under the spotlight when unknown assailants allegedly linked to an extortion group killed a popular singer Paul Flores.

Following the incident, Boluarte's government declared a new 30-day state of emergency in the Lima Metropolitan Area and Callao Province. ■