Peru president Boluarte backs investigation into protest deaths

Interior Minister Victor Rojas said in a conference alongside Boluarte on Thursday he had information that the protests could reignite on Jan. 4. Boluarte, who was vice president under Castillo, assumed the presidency earlier this month after Castillo was ousted and arrested for attempting illegally dissolve Congress. Castillo remains in pretrial detention while under investigation for rebellion and conspiracy. Boluarte said Thursday some neighboring countries had "wrongly interpreted" what happened to Castillo.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said Thursday she will provide all the necessary resources to the prosecutor's office to investigate over two dozen deaths during protests that have rocked Peru following the ouster of her predecessor Pedro Castillo.

An estimated 22 people have been killed in clashes during the protests and another six have died in traffic accidents related to street blockades, according to government data. Interior Minister Victor Rojas said in a conference alongside Boluarte on Thursday he had information that the protests could reignite on Jan. 4.

Boluarte, who was vice president under Castillo, assumed the presidency earlier this month after Castillo was ousted and arrested for attempting illegally dissolve Congress. Castillo remains in pretrial detention while under investigation for rebellion and conspiracy.

Boluarte said Thursday some neighboring countries had "wrongly interpreted" what happened to Castillo. In the days after Castillo's ouster, the leftist governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico and Colombia issued a

joint statement calling for the protection of Castillo's human rights and that those who removed Castillo should prioritize "the will of the citizens."

Another leftist bloc of Latin American countries including Cuba and Venezuela said days later

it rejected "the political framework created by right-wing forces against Constitutional President Pedro Castillo." Castillo's family received asylum in Mexico, while Mexican authorities are in talks with Peru to offer Castillo political protection as well, Mexico has said.

Peru declared Mexico's ambassador to Lima "persona non grata"

and ordered him to leave the country earlier this month, for what it considered Mexico's meddling in Peru's internal affairs.