Diego Tuesta Reategui

I’m a sociologist and a punishment and society scholar. My research analyzes criminalization and prosecutorial discretion in various sociological contexts. I have studied the criminalization of human trafficking, drug trade, and social conflicts in Peru, my country of origin, and my research has been published in major criminology and sociology outlets.

My trajectory combines teaching and research experiences in academia with public service and consultancy for criminal justice agencies and civil society organizations. I have taught social theory and criminology courses at the University of Toronto, the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and the Universidad del Pacífico. I have also worked in national institutions such as Peru’s Ministry of Justice and the National Commission of Drug Enforcement, as well as serving as a consultant for the British Embassy. These roles gave me the opportunity to conduct ethnographic research in Peru’s most emblematic artisanal mining and drug trade contexts, experiences that profoundly influenced the scope of my current work.

For my dissertation, I study multiple dimensions of prosecutorial discretion in Peru. I am also completing a research article on the security challenges that prosecutors face in their investigations against organized crime.

Publications

• Tuesta, D. (2024), "Is Vigilantism an “Extralegal” Phenomenon?", Dal Santo, L. and Sozzo, M. (Ed.) Punishment in Latin America: Explorations from the Margins (Perspectives on Crime, Law and Justice in the Global South), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 183-199. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83797-328-620241010.
• Tuesta, D., & Paredes, M. (2024). "Penal extractivism: A qualitative study on punishment and extractive industries in Peru." Punishment & Society, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/14624745241258894.
• Tuesta, D. (2021). “Rethinking Prosecutorial Discretion: Toward a Moral Cartography of Prosecutors,” British Journal of Criminology, 61 (6), pp. 1486-1502.
• Tuesta, D. (2020). “Trata de personas y justicia penal selectiva. El caso Madre de Dios.” In Sozzo, M., Reformas de la justicia penal en América Latina. Promesas, prácticas y efectos. Buenos Aires: DIDOT. 
• Tuesta, D. (2018). "<<Son prácticamente casos perdidos>> Trata de personas y respuesta judicial contra la trata de personas en Madre de Dios, Peru." Debates en Sociología, 47, 73-99.
• Mujica, J., Tuesta, D., and Prieto, B. (2017). "Coal Production in the Peruvian Amazon: Dynamics of Hazardous Child Labour." Impactos Sociais de Emprendimentos Econômico nas Condiçoes de Vida e Direitos de Crianças e Jovens (pp. 69-99). Belem do Pará: Ministerio dos Dereitos Humanos.
• Tuesta, D. (2016). "Sociology of the Penal System and the Gender Issue." Studies and Investigations in Peru and Ibero-America (pp. 273-298). Lima: Centre for Constitutional Studies. Constitutional Court of Peru.
• Tuesta, D., and Mujica, J. (2014). "Procedural justice problems in femicide criminal investigations in Peru." Urvio. Latin American Journal of Security Studies, (17), 80-95.
• López, N., and Tuesta, D. (2015). "Illicit economies and social order: the border area of Peru, Brazil, and Colombia." Revista CIDOB d’afers internacionals, 79-104.
• Tuesta, D. and Mujica, J. (2014). "Femicide Penal Response in the Americas: Indicators and the Misuses of Crime Statistics, evidence from Peru." International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory, 7 (1), 1- 21.
• Mujica, J., and Tuesta, D. (2012). "Problems of Criminological Indicators and Comparative Situation of Femicide in Peru." Anthropologica, 30(30), 169-194.