Peruvian Shamans Make Their 2026 Predictions

A group of shamans gathered Monday by the sea in the Miraflores district of Peru's capital, Lima, to carry out an annual ritual in which they make predictions for the upcoming year. Dressed in traditional Andean ponchos and headdresses, the group performed a ceremony and made predictions about the course of international relations, ongoing conflicts, and the fate of world leaders, reports the AP.

• Maduro: This year, the shamans said Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will be removed from office. "We have asked for Maduro to leave, to retire, for President Donald Trump of the United States to be able to remove him, and we have visualized that next year this will happen," said shaman Ana María Simeón.

• Trump: As for the American president himself, "The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill," Juan de Dios Garcia said, per RNZ.
• Spotty record: The group has a mixed record with its annual predictions. Last year, for instance, they warned a "nuclear war" would break out between Israel and Gaza. But in December 2023, the group correctly predicted that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who had been imprisoned for human rights abuses, would perish within 12 months. Fujimori died from cancer in September 2024 at the age of 86.
• Ritual: Before Monday's ceremony, the shamans met to drink hallucinogenic concoctions derived from native plants—including Ayahuasca and the San Pedro cactus—which are believed to give them the power to predict the future. After dancing in circles and playing ancestral instruments, the shamans asked for peace in the Middle East, an end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the fall of Maduro. The prayers to the gods, performed amid flowers and incense, as well as dances, are intended to encourage leaders to make good decisions. The shamans also predicted natural disasters, such as earthquakes and climatic phenomena.