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Peruvians clamor anew for president’s removal

Photo: Diego Ramos / AFP

| By AFP |

After a fortnight-long break, Peruvians took to the streets again on Wednesday, blocking roads countrywide to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, who took over from her ousted predecessor in December.

Protesters used stones and burning tires to barricade main routes in the southern regions of Puno, Cusco, Apurimac and Arequipa, as well as Junin in the center, chanting for Boluarte to leave.

She took over on December 7 as the South American country’s first woman president following the impeachment and arrest of Pedro Castillo after he tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

Castillo, a leftist former rural school teacher and union leader, faced vehement opposition from Congress during his 18 months in office, and had been the subject of numerous criminal investigations into allegations of widespread graft.

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His ouster sparked nationwide protests, with Peru’s rights ombudsman reporting 22 people killed in clashes and more than 600 injured.

Boluarte’s government declared a 30-day nationwide state of emergency, while she attempted to calm the uproar by seeking to bring forward elections.

The demonstrations died down over the holiday period, but by Wednesday the protesters had remobilized.

“There are ten blockades, mainly around Puno,” government spokesman Alberto Otarola told reporters in Lima, where a crisis center was erected.

In Arequipa, police sought to break up hundreds of protesters using tear gas.

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Dozens also gathered in the capital, Lima.

“The airports are functioning normally,” said Otarola.

As a precaution, train services between the town of Cusco and the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu were suspended indefinitely Tuesday and some 2,000 tourists escorted from the heritage site.

In the first wave of protests, thousands of tourists found themselves stranded at Machu Picchu and Cusco for days due to road, railway and airport blockades.

Public buildings and airports expecting protests were being guarded by police and soldiers deployed under the state of emergency.

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From Lima, Boluarte called Wednesday for an end to the protests she blamed for “delays, pain, economic losses” and appealed instead for “peace, calm, unity to promote development of the homeland.”

Protest leader Milan Knezvich, in the mountainous Apurimac region, vowed the struggle will continue.

“No one will want to talk to her. As long as Mrs Dina Boluarte does not resign, this will continue,” he told Exitosa radio.

The new government has agreed to bring forward elections set for 2026 to April next year, but many want voting to happen even sooner.

On Tuesday, marches were held in various parts of Peru against the planned restart of the anti-Boluarte protests.

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International

Bogotá residents line up for yellow fever vaccine amid national alert

David Suárez went to a public health center in Bogotá on Wednesday to get vaccinated against yellow fever. It wasn’t originally in his plans, but he responded to a call made just hours earlier by President Gustavo Petro, who announced he will declare a health and economic emergency due to a new outbreak of the disease that has already left more than 30 people dead, mostly in the central-western region of the country.

“I got vaccinated for two reasons: first, for my own health because I’m traveling, and second, for a social reason — simply to follow the president’s guidance and be aware that this is a problem for all of us,” said Suárez, a 39-year-old teacher, to The Associated Press.

Like Suárez, dozens of people were waiting in line for the vaccine at Bogotá’s main intercity bus terminal, a key transportation hub especially crowded during travel seasons like Holy Week.

The teacher is traveling with his family to the department of Huila, which has activated a contingency plan due to its proximity to Tolima — the epicenter of the yellow fever outbreak — where a state of public calamity has been declared.

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International

Mexico refuses to restore ties with Ecuador while Noboa remains in office

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reaffirmed during her morning press conference that her government will not restore diplomatic relations with Ecuador as long as Daniel Noboa remains in office.

“We have no relations with Ecuador, and we will not resume them while Noboa is president, because he was responsible for the invasion of the Mexican embassy—an attack on our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum stated.

The Mexican leader emphasized that Noboa is “responsible for the embassy invasion,” referring to the incident on April 5, 2024, when Ecuadorian police entered the Mexican embassy in Quito and detained former Ecuadorian Vice President Jorge Glas, who had been granted asylum there.

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International

Colombia: Search continues for missing limb of italian scientist found dismembered

Rescue teams and Colombian authorities continued their search on Tuesday for the missing left leg of Italian biologist Alessandro Coatti, whose dismembered body was found in the Caribbean city of Santa Marta.

Coatti, 42, was a molecular biologist who had been traveling through South America after working for eight years at the Royal Society of Biology (RSB) in London.

He had been staying in a hotel in Santa Marta since April 3 and was later reported missing. His dismembered body began to be discovered on April 6, when parts were found inside a suitcase abandoned near a football stadium in an area known as Bureche.

“We’re conducting the search along the riverbanks and in the water to identify possible spots where, due to the river’s current, the missing left leg might be located,” Karlotz Omaña García, director of the Magdalena Civil Defense, told The Associated Press. Despite covering a 500-meter radius, the limb was not found.

Authorities have not named any suspects or shared possible motives. A reward of more than $11,000 has been offered for information leading to those responsible for the foreign scientist’s murder.

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Police continue to reconstruct Coatti’s final movements. According to Colonel Jaime Ríos, head of the Santa Marta Metropolitan Police, the Italian biologist arrived in Colombia in January and had visited several locations, including Medellín, before traveling to Santa Marta.

Security footage shows Coatti was in downtown Santa Marta the night before his body was found, the colonel added.

Santa Marta, a popular Caribbean tourist destination, is known for its clear beaches. Police believe Coatti may also have visited Tayrona Park, a protected coastal area located about 34 kilometers (21 miles) from the city center.

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