Five military personnel drowned in a river, and one went missing as they tried to flee demonstrators who attacked them with stones in Peru’s Puno region, the epicenter of protests against the government that replaced then-President Pedro Castillo in December.
On Monday, the Ministry of Defense reported the discovery of the five patrol members that disappeared on Sunday in the icy and flowing waters of the Ilave river, a tributary of Lake Titicaca (at an altitude of 3,800 meters), on the border with Bolivia.
“We have found Corporals Elvis Pari, Franz Canazas, Alex Quispe Serrano, and Soldiers Elías Lupaca and Percy Castillo,” General Jhony León, commander of the Southern Military Region, told TV channel N.
He added that the men were assaulted “by the population” while crossing the river.
Navy and Army brigades were searching for a sixth military man.
A video released by the Defense Ministry shows 15 soldiers sitting in a circle and covered with blankets, informing an officer of what happened in Puno.
“We crossed the river (…) because we had no other escape. Between 800 and 900 people surrounded us and started throwing stones at us (…) People called us corrupt and murderers,” said soldier Vilca.
According to him, the soldiers tried to create a human chain when they entered the river, but the water dragged them.
As part of the political crisis that resulted in the fall of Castillo on December 7, 53 people died, including the five soldiers in Puno, in protests and clashes with the public force.
According to the Ombudsman’s Office, 1,300 people were injured, almost half uniformed.
Last Sunday, the El Collao Health Network in Puno reported receiving five soldiers with hypothermia who were rescued by residents while drowning.
The soldiers claim they were fleeing from protesters who attacked them with slingshots and pieces of wood during peasant protests against the government of Dina Boluarte, who replaced Pedro Castillo.
“When they reached the river, they were pressed and stoned. We are intervening in that place without causing the greatest impact. The Armed Forces have taken control of the Puno region,” General León declared.
The patrol was on its way from Ilave to the city of Juli, also in Puno, where there were clashes on Saturday that left at least 16 civilians and military wounded, and a police station burned down.
On March 7, Dina Boluarte completes three months in power after replacing Castillo.
Castillo was removed from the presidency after a failed coup attempt while under investigation for suspected corruption.
A 53-year-old rural teacher and union leader, Castillo is serving 18 months of pre-trial detention in the Barbadillo prison, a small detention center for former presidents inside the barracks of the Police Special Operations Directorate, east of Lima.
Elected to a five-year term, the former president had been in office for 17 months when he was deposed. His fall unleashed violent protests.
With information from AFP