Death toll in protests against Peru’s new president rises to seven

The Peruvian Ombudsman confirmed on Monday,  Dec. 12, that the number of deaths rose to seven in just over 24 hours of clashes between police and demonstrators calling for the resignation of the country’s new president, Dina Boluarte, and the closure of Congress.

“They have been two very unfortunate days with a balance of seven people killed (…) two of them minors and all by projectiles of firearms,” said in an interview with the broadcaster “Epicentro TV” the holder of the Ombudsman’s Office, Eliana Revollar.

The most violent confrontations occur in the country’s south, specifically in the departments of Apurímac and Arequipa.

The Regional Health Directorate of Apurímac stated that a 16-year-old died at noon on Monday after sustaining a bullet wound following a protest in Chincheros, in the department of Apurímac.

During the afternoon, the entity confirmed that two other 18-year-olds had died.

To these three victims recorded in the last few hours are added another young man who died this morning in Chincheros, a man killed in protests in the country’s second-largest city, Arequipa, and two more who died on Sunday afternoon in Andahuaylas.

In addition, Revollar confirmed that there were 32 civilians injured, in addition to 24 police officers, and stated that “the situation is very tense in the country.”

“We are asking for the investigation of these cases, which are really pointless deaths because if timely decisions were made, this situation should not happen,” Revollar stated, adding that a political solution is needed.

“We hope that this cabinet will be able to deal with this sad moment and hold the early elections that the population wants,” he added.

The Peruvian government on Monday declared a state of emergency for 60 days in seven provinces in the southern department of Apurímac, the epicenter of the protests calling for the ousting of President Dina Boluarte.

In this way, the Executive seeks to maintain “internal order” in the provinces of Abancay, Andahuaylas, Chincheros, Grau, Cotabambas, Antabamba, and Aymaraes with the joint work of the Peruvian National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces, according to the norm published in the official newspaper “El Peruano”.

For 60 days, the constitutional rights related to the “inviolability of the home, freedom of transit through the national territory, freedom of assembly and personal freedom and security” will be suspended in the province of Apurimac, according to article 2 of the Peruvian Constitution.

On Monday, there were road blockades in various parts of the country, an attack on Arequipa airport, and incidents at banking and judicial institutions in various locations.