Status: 12/12/2022 01:03 am
After the impeachment of President Castillo, Peru has not calmed down: across the country, demonstrators have taken to the streets to call for new elections. Clashes broke out – an airport was attacked in the city of Andahuaylas.
After the impeachment of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, demonstrators have called for his successor, Dina Boluarte, to resign. The participants in the rallies demanded new elections and the release of Castillo, who has been in custody since Thursday. They also called for a nationwide strike.
Clashes erupted in the city of Andahuaylas in southern Peru. There, demonstrators attacked police officers with stones. The forces then fired tear gas. According to the AFP news agency, one person was killed.
Media reports of attack on airport
In Andahuaylas, Castillo supporters paralyzed and partially set fire to an airport. According to a statement from the airport and airline company Corpac, quoted by the Peruvian media, the city’s airport was surrounded. There were 50 police and Corpac employees on the premises who were held hostage. 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.
Because of the attacks, which began on Saturday, the airport in the southern city with around 50,000 inhabitants had to close. Corpac asked for police reinforcements to protect the lives of the “hostages”. Already on Saturday, 16 civilians and four police officers were injured in protests in Andahuaylas.
Removed from office for “moral incompetence”.
Castillo was removed from office by the Peruvian parliament on Wednesday for “moral incompetence” and later arrested. The left-wing politician is accused of “rebellion and conspiracy”. His previous deputy, Boluarte, was sworn in as his successor shortly thereafter.
On Thursday, the country’s Supreme Court sentenced Castillo to seven days in custody. Castillo was elected head of state in July 2021 as a political outsider. Since then, the 53-year-old has been in a constant power struggle with the conservative-dominated Congress.