International
Peru protesters mourn their dead as clashes continue
January 12 | By AFP |
Demonstrators in Peru blocked roads and held mass funerals on Wednesday for those killed in violent anti-government protests that have gripped the country for weeks, as the United States called for “restraint” on both sides.
The deadly clashes have spread to the tourist city of Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, where one protester was killed Wednesday and more than 30 people, including 19 police officers, were wounded.
In total, at least 41 people have died in more than a month of demonstrations demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, who took over after the ouster and arrest of her predecessor Pedro Castillo on December 7.
The violence has drawn a rebuke from the United Nations, and a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) arrived in the country Wednesday to investigate the protests and accusations of political repression.
On Tuesday, Peru’s prosecutor’s office said it was opening a genocide investigation against Boluarte and other top officials as a result of the deaths.
The epicenter of the protests has been in the Aymara region of Puno, on the border with Bolivia, where thousands of residents walked the streets of Juliaca on Wednesday with the coffins of 17 civilians who were killed earlier this week.
Each coffin bore a photograph and was draped in a Peruvian flag.
“Dina killed me with bullets,” read the white coffin of Edgar Huaranca, carried on the shoulders of six family members.
Dominga Hancco held a portrait of her young daughter — shot dead during a protest.
“She was walking and only complained that her belly hurt,” she told AFP. “A few minutes passed and she fell, no one noticed how (the bullet) entered.”
The government has imposed a three-day curfew on the Andean region in a bid to calm the tensions, while also declaring a day of mourning on Wednesday for those killed.
In Cusco, demonstrators tried to reach the city’s airport after mobilizing to demand the president’s ouster.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd, with protesters responding by throwing stones. Some demonstrators held up street signs as shields against projectiles fired by security forces.
The ombudsman’s office said one protester had been killed, identifying him on Twitter as Remo Candia Guevara, the president of a local community group.
“We demand an immediate investigation to find those responsible for the death and proceed to the respective sanction,” it added.
In Arequipa, Peru’s second city, hundreds also marched against the government, while in Tacna, on the border with Chile, an indefinite strike began, marked by episodes of vandalism.
Rights probe launched
The regional governments of Puno and Cusco are demanding Boluarte step down as a first step to resolving the crisis.
Puno began an indefinite strike a week ago to demand the resignation of Boluarte, immediate presidential and legislative elections and the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
The IACHR commissioners were received by Boluarte at the Government Palace, the seat of the Peruvian executive.
“We are going to verify the human rights situation. We regret the loss of human life during the demonstrations,” said head of mission Edgar Stuardo Ralon, whose delegation will remain in Peru until Friday.
They will meet with authorities, victims and their relatives in Lima, Ica and Arequipa.
The United States on Wednesday urged restraint and the minimal use of force, and backed an investigation into the dozens of deaths.
“We recognize the right for peaceful protest and expressing grievances through democratic channels, and call for calm, dialogue and for all parties to exercise restraint and non-violence,” a State Department spokesperson said.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
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