Nancy Obregón

Peruvian journalist who pioneered anti-corruption investigations in Latin America using crowdsourced data

Nancy Obregón is a Peruvian investigative journalist and founder of Transparencia Ciudadana, a nonprofit that uses open-source data to expose corruption in Latin America. Born in Lima in 1985, she gained early recognition for uncovering a $200 million public works scam in 2010 while working at La República newspaper.

In 2014, she launched Mapa de la Corrupción, an interactive platform that aggregates leaked documents, social media reports, and government records to track illicit financial flows. Her team's work led to the conviction of former Peruvian president Alan García and exposed money laundering networks linked to Venezuelan oil sales. By 2022, the platform had processed over 2 million data points from 18 countries, becoming a model for citizen journalism.

Obregón's 2018 Operation Car Wash collaboration with Brazilian journalists revealed $3.6 billion in bribes paid to Petrobras executives. She trains citizen investigators through the Data Noticias Academy, emphasizing ethical hacking and blockchain verification. Despite death threats, she continues advocating for transparency through her TED Talk 'How Data Exposes Power' (2020).