Peru’s new government declares police state amid protests

LIMA, Peru — Peru’s new government declared a national emergency Wednesday as it struggled to calm violent protests over President Pedro Castillo’s ouster, suspending the rights of “personal security and freedom” across the Andean nation for 30 days.

Acts of vandalism, violence and highway blockades as thousands of Peruvians are in the streets “require a forceful and authoritative response from the government,” Defense Minister Luis Otarola Peñaranda said.

The declaration suspends the rights of assembly and freedom of movement and empowers the police, supported by the military, to search people’s homes without permission or judicial order. Otarola said it had not been determined whether a nightly curfew would be imposed.

The defense minister said the declaration was agreed to by the council of ministers. It didn’t mention Peru’s new president, Dina Boluarte, who was sworn in by Congress last week hours after lawmakers ousted Castillo.

Boluarte pleaded for calm as demonstrations continued against her and Congress.

“Peru cannot overflow with blood,” she said earlier Wednesday.

Referring to demands for immediate elections, she suggested they could be held a year from now, four months before her earlier proposal, which placated no one.

Boluarte floated the possibility of scheduling general elections for December 2023 to reporters just before a hearing to determine whether Castillo would remain jailed for 18 months while authorities build a rebellion case against him. The judge postponed the hearing after Castillo refused to participate.

Protesters have blocked streets in Peru’s capital and many rural communities, demanding Castillo’s freedom, Boluarte’s resignation and the immediate scheduling of general elections to pick a new president and replace all members of Congress.

At least seven people have been killed, including a teenager who died Wednesday after being injured during protests in Andahuaylas, a hospital director said.

All perished in the same kinds of impoverished communities whose voters propelled the rural teachers union leader to victory last year after he promised a populist approach to governing.

Castillo was ousted by lawmakers Dec. 7 after he sought to dissolve Congress ahead of their third attempt to impeach him. His vehicle was intercepted as he traveled through Lima’s streets with his security detail. Prosecutors accused him of trying to seek political asylum at the Mexican Embassy.

In a handwritten letter shared Wednesday with The Associated Press by his associate Mauro Gonzales, Castillo asked the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to intercede for his “rights and the rights of my Peruvian brothers who cry out for justice.” The commission investigates allegations of human rights violations and litigates them in some cases.

In the last week, protesters have burned police stations, taken over an airstrip used by the armed forces and invaded the runway of the international airport in Arequipa, a gateway to some of Peru’s tourist attractions. The passenger train that carries visitors to Machu Picchu suspended service, and roadblocks on the Pan-American Highway have stranded trailer trucks for days, spoiling food bound for the capital.

Otarola on Tuesday said the total number of people “causing this disturbance” has been no more than 8,000 nationwide, an estimate that vastly understates support for Castillo, who took office in July 2021 after gaining nearly 8.8 million votes to win the presidential runoff election by a narrow 50.1% share of the vote.