LIMA, Peru (AP) — In one of his first acts as interim president of Peru, José Jerí on Saturday led a series of raids on prisons holding gang leaders nationwide, the presidency said, a day after the ouster of his deeply unpopular predecessor over her failure to curb rising crime.

Flanked by elite officers and wearing a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the 38-year-old Jerí signaled a tough-on-crime message as he strode into the maximum-security Ancón I prison in Peru’s capital of Lima on Saturday to oversee cell-to-cell searches for contraband. The prison sweep turned up smuggled cellphones, drugs and sharp objects used as weapons, authorities said.

Jerí’s visit to Ancón I coincided with raids at three other prisons across Peru, the president’s office reported, including Lima’

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