A cloud of tear gas surrounds police officers trying to disperse demonstrators protesting the ouster of Pedro Castillo in San Martin Square in Lima. Photo: AP.
Yesterday, thousands took to the streets of Lima and other parts of Peru to defy the state of exception imposed to stop the protests there Demand the resignation of President Dina Boulwart and the closure of Congressin a day when Seven people were killed and more than five injured during clashes in the southern province of AyacuchoThe army fired tear gas canisters from helicopters against the demonstrators.
By not containing the growing demonstrations that They have already left 16 dead and more than 200 arrested, after Congress impeached President Pedro Castillo, and the new government decreed curfews in 15 provinces.
In addition, the court ordered 18 months of preventive detention for the deposed former president, until the National Prosecutor’s Office could investigate him for an alleged crime of insubordination, conspiracy, abuse of power, and serious disturbance of public tranquility after his failed attempt. Closure of the legislature and formation of an exception government as of the last day 7.
The pressure continued on the streets with more than a hundred highways closed in at least 13 of the country’s 24 provinces. And in the south, five airports in the provinces of Andahuelas, Arequipa, Puno, Cuzco and Ayacucho remain closed.
The government asserted the day before yesterday that the protests were organized and directed by “professionals” and “extremists” linked to the “terrorist” and/or rebel groups Sendero Luminoso and Túpac Amaru, but yesterday the chief of the Ayacucho Regional Police, Antero Mejia, charged that “vandals” brought firearms to The exterior of the local air station, and shot at law enforcement officers.
The Office of the Ombudsman called on the armed forces to “immediately stop using firearms and tear gas canisters dropped from helicopters” after the clashes at Ayacucho airport.
At the moment, the regional executive of Ayacucho Poluarte and the two ministers of the interior, César Cervantes, and the defense, Luis Alberto Otarola, have been held responsible for the violence, and the balance of the clashes between the demonstrators and the elements is estimated at seven dead and 52 wounded. At Alfredo Mendeville Duarte Airport, I reported on the RPP series. Thousands marched through the streets around the Congress in Lima, leading to clashes with the police. The mobilization in the capital was part of the “Day of Struggle”, called by the General Confederation of Workers of Peru, one of the largest in the country.
The government decreed five-day curfews in the 15 provinces of Arequipa, La Libertad, Ica, Apurimac, Cusco, Puno, Huancavelica and Ayacucho as part of a nationwide state of emergency due to massive social protests.
Measurement begins at 6, 7, or 8 p.m., depending on the venue, and extends until 4 a.m. the next day.
The train to the touristic Machu Picchu is still suspended and hundreds of tourists are stranded. About 2,000 Bolivian cargo trucks are blocked at the border between the two countries.
The President of Congress, Jose Williams, reported that the debate will continue today to analyze the progress of the general elections through 2023, as well as the reduction of presidential and parliamentary mandates.
(With info from today)
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