Unrest in Peru over Spain’s decision to suspend the sale of riot control equipment

The Peruvian Minister of the Interior, Vicente Romero, has confirmed that the Spanish Government has decided to suspend the sale of tear gas materials for use by the National Police (PNP).

Romero made the Spanish refusal public during an official activity developed in the Lambayeque region, with the president, Dina Boluarte, the premier Alberto Otárola and other ministers.

“Spain has decided not to sell tear gas material to the National Police, a respectable (decision) indeed, but I want to emphasize the following: We live in a country under the rule of law, a country that lives in a democracy,” the Minister maintained.

The cessation of the supply of anti-riot material to Peru, communicated by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, in an appearance in the Congress of Deputies, was a demand of different non-governmental organizations.

Among them is Amnesty International, which pointed to police repression as the alleged culprit of the more than fifty deaths that have resulted from the protests initiated since the arrest of former President Pedro Castillo.

In this respect, Romero affirmed that the Public Ministry was carrying out all the corresponding investigations to determine the causes of these deaths and assured that, since “up to now there are no results, ” everything is presumptions and speculations.

“So, if Spain has closed its doors to us, we will knock on other doors”, concluded the Peruvian Minister.

DEGRADATION OF CONFIDENCE IN SPAIN

The words of the Minister of the Interior show the rapid degradation of confidence in Spain as a supplier of the Peruvian National Police. This mistrust risks extending to the Defense sector.

According to Amnesty International, Spain issued between 2017 and June 2022 licensing authorizations for lethal and non-lethal weapons for the benefit of Peru for values close to 184 million euros between police and military equipment, of which 40 million euros correspond to anti-riot materials.

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