At least 16 people were injured in the last few hours due to clashes between the Police and demonstrators who they wanted to take an airport in the Peruvian city of Juliaca, in the south of the country. The repression occurred within the framework of the protests that demand the departure of President Dina Boluarte and members of Congress through the advancement of general elections.
The Ombudsman confirmed that four troops and 12 civilians ended up with injuries from the clashes in the frustrated takeover of the Inca Manco Cápac air terminal, which was also temporarily closed for security reasons.
According to the local media RPP, the protesters arrived at the terminal throwing stones and other objects with the idea of entering the runwayand in that attempt they also burned a police car, while the troops responded with tear gas.
the wounded They were transferred to the Carlos Monge Medrano Hospital in Juliacawhere a representative of the Ombudsman’s Office also went to verify the attention they receive and reconstruct what happened.
The health center reported in a statement posted on its Facebook account that two of the four hospitalized policemen “are in critical conditionwaiting to be evacuated to Lima in an air ambulance due to cervical trauma and ocular trauma”.
“Likewise, a civilian wounded by a gunshot is in the shock trauma area, with a reserved prognosis, receiving permanent attention from health personnel. The other injured are in stable condition and some have already been discharged,” he added. The hospital also asked to “respect the work of the health personnel” by denouncing that an ambulance that helped to help the injured received “stoning by the protesters”.
For his part, the operator Aeropuertos Andinos of Peru confirmed the temporary closure of the airport due to anti-government protests: “Inca Manco Cápac de Juliaca has suspended its operations as of today due to the acts of violence and the lack of security in its surroundings that put the safety of our team and passengers at risk.”
A convulsed month
The protests began a month ago after the dismissal of former president Pedro Castillodecided by the unicameral Congress after the attempt to dissolve that body in a context of disputes between the Executive and Legislative branches.
In her capacity as Vice President, Boluarte replaced Castilloa rural teacher who, after being dismissed he was detained to be investigated for rebellion and remains in pretrial detention for 18 months. The violent protests broke out mainly in the center and south of the country, where the former president has support, and were harshly repressed by the police and the military, which sparked widespread repudiation, including from international organizations.
The Public Ministry of Peru (Prosecutor’s Office) ordered yesterday to carry out preliminary procedures to address the complaints filed against Boluarte and two ministers of his cabinet for the deaths of civilians during those protests that continue, despite the fact that the new Government decreed a state of emergency.
The initiative responds to criminal complaints filed in December by four lawyers from the southern department of Ayacuchowhere most of the deaths occurred.
Some 63 blockades “with interrupted traffic” are maintained this Saturday in nine regions of the country on the fourth day of the new wave of protests resumed after the truce for the New Year holidays. This was reported by the Superintendence of Land Transportation of People, Cargo and Goods (Sutran), which also specified that there are 13 national highways affected.