At least five injured and a police station burned down this Saturday left a confrontation between protesters and security forces during protests in the Andean region of Puno against President Dina Boluarte, authorities reported.
The violent actions occurred in the city of Juli when hundreds of indigenous people mobilized demanding the resignation of Boluarte, who this March 7 will be in power for three months after assuming the replacement of the leftist Pedro Castillo dismissed by Congress after a failed coup d’état. last December 7th.
The confrontation broke out when security forces, made up of police officers and army soldiers, used their firearms to disperse a mob that attacked and burned down the local police station, according to images posted on social media.
The health network of the province of Chucuito, under the Ministry of Health, indicated that the Rafael Ortiz Ravines hospital in Juli treated five civilians, two women and three men, although without specifying their condition or the type of injuries. .
#Peru Five injured (apparently by firearm) after violent repression by the army and the police in #July region #A lots of
The protests against the government of Dina Boluarte continue.
It is reported that the local police station has been set on fire @teleSURtv pic.twitter.com/h6UKLOtNdn— JAIME HERRERA (@JaimeHerreraCaj) March 4, 2023
The Peruvian National Police said in a statement that “unknown persons attacked the facilities of the Juli Police Station in Chucuito-Puno, causing disturbances and attacks on law enforcement. We ask for respect to the population; likewise, we reject acts of violence that put citizens at risk.”
The police station was empty at the time of the firebomb attack and the fire spread to the entire headquarters, according to images broadcast by a local television channel.
Castillo’s fall has sparked violent protests since December, which have left 48 dead and more than 600 injured in clashes with security forces.
The protesters call for the resignation of Boluarte, the closure of Congress and the advancement of elections to 2023.
Castillo, a 53-year-old rural teacher and trade union leader, has been serving 18 months in preventive detention since December in the Barbadillo prison, a mini-prison for ex-presidents, inside the headquarters of the Special Operations Directorate of the Police, east of Lima.
The former Peruvian president, who had been elected until 2026, was removed by Congress on December 7 when he had been in power for 17 months.
That same day he was captured for the crime of rebellion and conspiracy for trying to close Congress, intervene in public powers and govern by decree. The maneuver had no institutional backing.
The police detained him when he was trying to reach the Mexican embassy to request asylum. His vice president, Dina Boluarte, has assumed power since then.