Peru faces deadliest day of anti-government protests, at least 17 dead

Protestors and security forces clash in the city of Juliaca as protestors demand early elections and release of former president Pedro Castillo. This ended up in being the deadliest clash since the start of protests causing loss of 17 lives.

This is the highest death toll since the protests began in early December after Castillo’s removal and arrest. Castillo is in for 18 months of pretrial detention on charges of rebellion, which he has denied categorically. This happened after his widely condemned attempt to dissolve Congress and head off his own impeachment.

Majorly the protests consisted of roadblocks making it impossible for the truckers to deliver their goods. Nearly 13 percent of Peru’s provinces reported protests on Monday. Two of the dead consisted of teenagers that were part of the protesters who were trying to take control of the airport at Juliaca as reported by country’s human rights office. Another person of 17 to be reported dead was killed in the city of Chucuito, where protesters blocked highway.

Apart from the dead the number of injured people is around 68 as stated by henry Rebaza, a Puno health Ministry official told state Television channel. “The only thing that was in my hands was moving forwards the elections, which we have already proposed,” Dina Boluarte, current President of Peru said. “What you are asking for is a pretext to continue generating chaos in the cities.”, she further added.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said that it will go to Lima and other places during its three-day visit to Peru to assess the situation.