The advisory notices are like scars on the voguish dark wood-and-concrete exterior of the Café del Mar, a chic nightspot in the upmarket Miraflores neighbourhood of southern Lima. Plastered across the club's door, they declare in large red letters: "CLOSED for breaking the law."

Last month, the Café del Mar became the first such establishment in Peru to be shut down by local authorities for racial discrimination. It was also fined 241,500 soles ($77,000, €56,000, £38,000).