After President Castillo was removed from office and arrested, the protests of his supporters are now escalating. At least two people are killed and several are injured.
At least two people were killed and several injured in violent protests following the impeachment of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo. The police had previously spoken of one fatality – a teenager – in the south of the country. Several people were reportedly injured. During the riots, an airport was paralyzed and partly set on fire.
According to a statement by the airport and airline company Corpac, quoted by the Peruvian media, 50 police officers and Corpac employees were held hostage at the airport in the city of Andahuaylas on Sunday. According to media reports, the rioters demanded, among other things, the resignation of the new President Dina Boluarte and new elections.
As reported by the operator, the fuel depot and the communications room at the airport were set on fire. The runway and important equipment were also badly affected by violence and vandalism, it said. The airport in the city in the south of the country with around 50,000 inhabitants was closed – according to the police, it was secured by an elite unit. For the second day in a row, there have been clashes between protesters and police in the area.
According to media reports, demonstrators blocked highways in other parts of the South American country. There were demonstrations in several cities, including the capital Lima. Fighting broke out at a session of Congress on Sunday. A deputy from ex-President Pedro Castillo’s former left-wing party, Perú Libre, slapped a colleague in the face, videos showed.
The previous Vice President Boluarte replaced Castillo as head of state and government on Wednesday. Shortly before a vote of no confidence against himself, he had announced the dissolution of the congress. Parliament then removed him from office, and on Thursday the former left-wing village school teacher was taken into custody on charges of rebellion. On Saturday, Boluarte, Peru’s first female president, sworn in her cabinet and made the ministers swear they were not corrupt.