
On a beach south of Lima, Peruvian shamans marked the arrival of the New Year with an annual ritual blending ancient traditions and contemporary geopolitics, unveiling a series of striking predictions for the months ahead.
Dressed in brightly colored ponchos and surrounded by flowers and incense, the spiritual leaders gathered to perform ceremonial rites intended to foresee the fate of world affairs. Central to the ritual were large images of international political figures laid out on the sand, which the shamans symbolically engaged with using swords, smoke, and ritual gestures meant to reveal future outcomes.
Among the most eye-catching forecasts was a warning concerning U.S. President Donald Trump. According to Juan de Dios Garcia, one of the participating shamans, the United States should brace for troubling news, as he foresees Trump suffering a serious illness in the coming year.
Venezuela’s president, Nicolas Maduro, was also the subject of ominous predictions. The shamans claim to envision his political defeat and eventual flight from the country. Garcia stated that while Maduro would leave Venezuela, he would not be captured or imprisoned.
Other global leaders were included in the ceremony, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Regarding the war in Ukraine, the shamans predicted an end to the conflict, anticipating a future marked by peace and reconciliation.
Closer to home, the ritual produced a significant forecast for Peruvian politics. Garcia asserted that Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori, would win Peru’s presidential election in 2026. After three unsuccessful attempts, he said, her long-held ambition to lead the country would finally be realized, a vision he claims to have perceived through the use of wachuma, an ancestral ceremonial plant.
The New Year ritual, held annually in late December, has become a recurring event that captures public and media attention. However, the shamans’ predictions have not always proven accurate. In 2023, they similarly foresaw an end to the war in Ukraine—an outcome that has yet to materialize. Despite this, the ceremony continues to fascinate observers, standing at the crossroads of spirituality, tradition, and global politics.
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