At least 14 people died and another 68 were injured in the Peruvian region of Puno, on the border with Bolivia, the country’s Ministry of Health reported on Monday, in the worst day of protests demanding early elections and the release of imprisoned former leftist president Pedro Castillo. .
With this, the number of fatalities in clashes with the security forces increased to 36 since December, after the expulsion and arrest of Castillo, who tried to illegally dissolve Congress and reorganize the Judiciary.
Another six people have died in traffic accidents linked to blockades during protests, according to official data.
The protesters also demand the resignation of the president Dina Boluartethe closure of Congress, the change of the Constitution and the release of Castillo, who is serving an 18-month preventive prison accused of “rebellion”, which the former president denies.
“We ask the forces of order to make a legal, necessary and proportional use of force and we urge the prosecutor’s office to carry out a speedy investigation to clarify the facts,” the Ombudsman said on Twitter.
In the worst day of protests for the largest number of victims in one day, the ombudsman’s office had said hours before that a newborn had died while being transferred from the city of Yunguyo, in Puno, to a local hospital by ambulance. which was delayed due to a road block.
Henry Rebaza, vice minister of benefits and insurance of the Ministry of Health, reported that the death toll rose to 14 and the injured to 68. “At the airport (in Puno) it is not possible to evacuate 28 police officers who are also injured and not we have all the conditions to be able to bring all the help that is needed,” he told state television TV Peru.
Puno’s regional health director, Ismael Cornejo, told local radio station RPP that some of the fatalities and wounded in the region had bullet wounds to their bodies.
Police and security forces have been accused by human rights groups of using deadly firearms and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters. The Army says, for its part, that the demonstrators use homemade weapons and explosives.
In Juliaca, Puno, a Reuters witness recorded images of gunshots and smoke in the streets as protesters took cover behind large metal plates and traffic signs and hurled rocks at police with makeshift slingshots.
Other witness footage showed people performing CPR on a man lying motionless on the ground in a bloodstained sweater; and others seriously injured in a crowded hospital waiting room.
Claims “are not in my hands”: Boluarte
The social protests were reactivated last week after a break for the year-end holidays, and are now concentrated in the Puno region with roadblocks and trade to the neighboring country. Since the resumption of the demonstrations, serious clashes with the police had been reported after protesters tried to take over the city’s airport.
President Boluarte stated at the Government Palace, shortly before the nine deaths were made public, that it was not clear what they were demanding in Puno, where the protests were being led by indigenous groups.
“I already explained to them that the four political points (which are requested) are not in my hands. The only thing that was in my hands, which is the advancement of elections, we already proposed it,” he said.
At Boluarte’s initiative, Congress took a first step in December to advance the general elections by two years, in April 2024. The proposal must be endorsed with a second vote scheduled for February or March.
“What you are asking for is a pretext to continue generating chaos in the cities, I call you to reflect brothers and sisters,” said the president in a speech before a meeting with different institutions in the country.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) announced that it will visit Peru from Wednesday to Friday of this week, touring Lima and other cities to assess the situation in the South American country.
Earlier, the Peruvian government announced that it had barred nine Bolivian citizens from entering the country, including former leftist President Evo Morales, a staunch supporter of the ousted Castillo and critic of Boluarte.
Last week, the Peruvian Defense Minister, Jorge Chávez, affirmed that according to intelligence reports, foreigners had been detected entering the country who would be fueling the protests with “separatist” plans.
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