At least 17 dead in anti-government protests in southern Peru
After protests calling for new elections and the release of imprisoned former president Pedro Castillo restarted, violence has claimed the lives of at least 17 people in southern Peru.
Two teens were among those killed in the city of Juliaca, where protestors were attempting to seize control of the airport, the nation’s human rights agency reported on Monday. The Associated Press news agency stated that a second death was also reported in the nearby city of Chucuito, where demonstrators had blocked a roadway.
The number of fatalities was at its greatest since the turmoil started in early December as a result of Castillo’s expulsion and detention following a widely denounced attempt to dissolve Congress and prevent his own impeachment. Castillo is in pre-trial custody for 18 months due to rebellion-related allegations, which he vigorously contests.
Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s replacement and his former campaign companion, has backed a proposal to move forward the 2026 presidential and congressional elections to 2024. She has also voiced support for judicial inquiries into the use of disproportionate force by security personnel.
However, despite some temporary relief around the holidays, the unrest has since returned to some of Peru’s poorest regions, where Castillo’s rule had previously enjoyed the most support.
On Monday, there were protests reported in 13% of Peru’s regions nationwide, many of which included roadblocks that made it difficult for truckers to bring produce to markets.
A Reuters news agency witness captured images of gunshots and smoke on the streets in Juliaca, near the banks of Lake Titicaca in Peru’s southern Puno province, while protesters hid behind massive metal plates and road signs and hurled rocks at police using homemade slingshots.
According to Henry Rebaza, a representative of the Puno health ministry, 68 individuals had been hurt, some of whom had been sent to hospitals. Ismael Cornejo, the regional health director for Puno, informed the local radio station RPP that some of the bodies had bullet wounds.
The Ombudsman Office of Peru stated in a statement that Congress and the central government should be responsible for resolving disputes, not the police and military forces.
Other video showed people performing CPR on a man who was lifeless on the ground wearing a sweatshirt that was covered in blood, as well as patients with serious wounds gathered in a congested hospital waiting area.
