The second largest airport in the Latin American country was paralyzed. Castillo also receives support from countries like Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia. A total of seven people died, three of them teenagers.
After the controversial impeachment of former president Pedro Castillo, Peru has not stopped: five more people were killed on Monday during protests against the leftist politician’s ouster. According to official sources, the death toll in the violent clashes surrounding the change of power amounted to at least seven, including three teenagers.
Castillo received support from several left-wing countries in the region. Castillo was removed from office by parliament last Wednesday for “moral incompetence” and subsequently arrested. He applied for asylum in Mexico. His deputy, Dina Boluarte, was appointed as the new president. In the face of protests against the change of power, she announced on Sunday that she wanted to bring forward the parliamentary elections, which were actually scheduled for 2026, to April 2024. In addition, she imposed a state of emergency in regions particularly affected by the protests.
Despite this, the protests continued on Monday. Four people died in the southern province of Apurímac after two protesters died on Sunday in clashes with security forces. Another protester was killed in clashes with police in Peru’s second-largest city, Arequipa, on Monday. “There have been a total of seven deaths since Sunday,” the AFP news agency reported in official circles.
Protesters block the airport
In Arequipa, around 2,000 protesters paralyzed the airport. According to an AFP photographer, protesters in the Andean city in the south of the country blocked the airport runway with stones, burned tires and wood and damaged the lighting systems.
The deposed Castillo also received support from Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia. A joint statement by the leftist governments of those countries said on Monday that the former president had been the victim of a “hostile and anti-democratic” movement since he took office last year.
The former head of state is currently in custody, and his appeal will be heard in court on Tuesday. Castillo considers himself a “political prisoner and he also explained this to the Public Ministry,” his lawyers said before the hearing.
(APA/DPA)