PanamaTimes

Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Peru president backs investigation into protest deaths

Peru president backs investigation into protest deaths

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said Thursday she will provide all necessary resources to prosecutors so they can investigate the more than two dozen deaths during protests that have rocked Peru following the ouster of her predecessor.
An estimated 22 people have been killed in clashes during the protests and another six have died in traffic accidents related to street blockades, according to government data.

"We're going to give all the resources possible to the prosecutor's office to investigate the deaths," Boluarte said at a news conference on Thursday.

Boluarte assumed the presidency earlier this month after leftist President Pedro Castillo was ousted in an impeachment vote hours after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress. She was previously Castillo's vice president.

Castillo was arrested and remains in pretrial detention while under investigation on rebellion and conspiracy charges. His ouster led to days of sometimes violent protests in Peru.

In response, Boluarte's government implemented a state of emergency that granted security forces special powers and limited freedoms such as the right to assembly.

Human rights groups have accused authorities of using firearms on protesters and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters. The army says protesters have used weapons and homemade explosives.

"The police and army went out on the streets to protect the lives and calm the fears of the 33 million people living in Peru," Boluarte said Thursday, but added that the deaths would not go unpunished.

"We are not going to allow impunity, they need to be investigated," Boluarte said.

A Reuters investigation found several cases of people who were shot dead in the city of Ayacucho after the military moved into the region to wrest back control.

Interior Minister Victor Rojas said in the conference alongside Boluarte he had information that the protests could reignite, particularly in the south, on Jan. 4 after pausing during the Christmas holidays.

He said human rights would be protected if more protests were to break out. "No one wants to repeat the deaths that happened in the first round of conflicts," he said.

'BREAKDOWN OF CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER'

Boluarte said some neighboring countries had "wrongly interpreted" what happened to Castillo.

In the days after Castillo's ouster, the leftist governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Colombia issued a joint statement calling for the protection of Castillo's human rights and said those who removed Castillo should prioritize "the will of the citizens."

Another leftist bloc of Latin American countries including Cuba and Venezuela said days later it rejected "the political framework created by right-wing forces against Constitutional President Pedro Castillo."

Boluarte pushed back on those criticisms. "What did happen was a breakdown of the constitutional order by (Castillo) wanting to carry out a coup d'état," she said.

Castillo's family have received asylum in Mexico, while Mexican authorities have offered Castillo protection as well, Mexico has said.

Peru declared Mexico's ambassador to Lima "persona non grata" and ordered him to leave the country earlier this month, for what it considered Mexico's meddling in Peru's internal affairs.

Boluarte said on Thursday that Peru's foreign ministry was "working hard" to normalize relations for its ambassadors in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Bolivia.

"It is important for us, especially for the Pacific Alliance, the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), and the Andean Community, to continue working with all the countries in the region," Boluarte said.

She maintained that she will remain in office until 2024, when she has proposed to hold new elections, a move that Congress has not yet approved.

Boluarte said she would not step down and that her resignation would "generate anarchy in the country."
Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
×