Peru president backs investigation into protest deaths

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said Thursday she will provide all necessary resources to prosecutors so they can investigate over two dozen deaths during protests that have rocked Peru following the ouster of her predecessor.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte said Thursday she will provide all necessary resources to prosecutors so they can investigate over two dozen deaths during protests that have rocked Peru following the ouster of her predecessor. 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.

"We're going to give all the resources possible to the prosecutor's office to investigate the deaths," Boluarte said at a news conference on Thursday. Boluarte assumed the presidency earlier this month after leftist President Pedro Castillo was ousted in an impeachment vote hours after attempting to illegally dissolve Congress. She was previously Castillo's vice president.

Castillo was arrested and remains in pretrial detention while under investigation on rebellion and conspiracy charges. His ouster led to days of sometimes violent protests in Peru. In response, Boluarte's government implemented a state of emergency that granted security forces special powers and limited freedoms such as the right to assembly.

Human rights groups have accused authorities of using firearms on protesters and dropping smoke bombs from helicopters. The army says protesters have used weapons and homemade explosives. "The police and army went out on the streets to calm the fears of millions of Peruvians," Boluarte said Thursday, but added that the deaths would not go unpunished.

Interior Minister Victor Rojas said in the conference alongside Boluarte he had information that the protests could reignite, particularly in the south, on Jan. 4 after pausing during the Christmas holidays. Boluarte added that 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 said 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 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.