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Peru’s new leader urges calm as protests grow

Photo: Cris Bouroncle / AFP

| By AFP |

Peru’s new President Dina Boluarte called for calm Friday as protests mounted after the impeachment and arrest of her predecessor Pedro Castillo, who stands accused of attempting a coup.

Police on Thursday fired tear gas and clashed with hundreds of protesters who demanded Castillo’s release.

Demonstrations continued on Friday, with protesters blocking roads with rocks, logs, and burning tires as they called for early elections.

Boluarte told journalists that if the situation “warrants it,” the government will consult with Congress on holding an early presidential vote.

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She urged those “who are coming out in protest … to calm down.”

Peru was plunged into political crisis on Wednesday, when leftist Castillo — facing a third impeachment bid — tried to dissolve Congress and announced plans to rule by decree.

However, lawmakers quickly gathered to vote him out of office, and Castillo was arrested on his way to the embassy of Mexico, which had agreed to give him asylum.

The former rural school teacher, who won a shock election victory over Peru’s traditional elites in June 2021, is being held in provisional detention for seven days while prosecutors investigate charges of “rebellion and conspiracy.”

The charges carry a jail term of between 10 and 20 years.

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Boluarte, who served as vice president under Castillo, was hastily sworn in as Peru’s first woman president just hours after the impeachment. She said she would form her government on Saturday.

However, doubt is mounting over her ability to hold onto the job until the end of her mandate in 2026 in a country prone to political instability that is now on its sixth president in six years.

Hundreds of protesters were blocking different sections of the Panamericana Sur highway for a second day on Friday, and further protests and blockades have been called in the capital Lima later in the day.

Protests have also been reported in several towns in Peru’s interior, where poverty is high, and Castillo drew a lot of support for his campaign as a humble man of the people.

Castillo, 53, landed in the crosshairs of the opposition-dominated Congress and prosecutors almost as soon as he took office.

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He had six investigations opened against him during his short time as president, ranging from corruption to plagiarizing his thesis and heading a “criminal organization” involving his family and allies.

International

Regional mexican music mourns the death of Banda Gota de Oro singer Giovanni Vera

Regional Mexican music is mourning the death of Giovanni Vera, lead vocalist of the band Banda Gota de Oro, who was among the victims of an armed attack that occurred on Sunday, December 28, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

The incident took place inside a residence located in the Los Presidentes neighborhood, in the municipality of Irapuato.

According to preliminary reports, several people were gathered at the house when armed men burst in and opened fire on those present. The attack left five people dead, including the singer.

Hours after the shooting, Banda Gota de Oro confirmed Vera’s death through its official Instagram account. In one of the posts, the group expressed its grief with an emotional message: “Today, the sky is dressed for a celebration because you are singing up there. Your voice and your joy will live on forever within us.”

Messages of support and condolences from fans and fellow musicians quickly flooded social media, paying tribute to the artist and expressing solidarity with his family and bandmates.

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One Dead, Three Injured in Shooting at Cree Nation in Saskatchewan

One person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting reported early Tuesday in the Big Island Lake Cree Nation, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, according to local media.

Police said they were alerted to the incident in a remote area located approximately 392 kilometers northwest of the city of Saskatoon. Authorities issued a dangerous persons alert for two suspects, who were described as armed.

Saskatchewan police urged residents to seek shelter immediately, lock their doors, and avoid the area while the situation remains under investigation. Officers are working to determine whether the shooting was a targeted attack or a random act of violence.

As a precautionary measure, seven health-care facilities in the surrounding area were placed under lockdown, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said in a post on X.

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Mexico’s President Visits Victims After Train Derailment Kills 13 in Oaxaca

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum visited on Monday the victims injured in a train accident that left 13 people dead in the southern state of Oaxaca and announced financial assistance for those affected by the derailment of the Interoceanic Train, which was inaugurated in 2023.

The train, carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members, derailed on Sunday while traveling along the Interoceanic Corridor, a major infrastructure project that connects the Pacific coast with the Gulf of Mexico across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The corridor was one of the flagship initiatives of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s administration (2018–2024).

Sheinbaum visited three hospitals in the neighboring towns of Tehuantepec and Salina Cruz, where around 20 injured passengers remain hospitalized. She also went to a funeral home to accompany the families of those who lost their lives in the accident.

According to Mexico’s Navy Secretary, Raymundo Morales, the accident occurred when one of the locomotives derailed, causing all four railcars to leave the tracks.

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