Firing live ammunition and gas bombs, Peruvian security forces killed at least 56 demonstrators, including children, in the first six weeks following the ousting of the country’s ‘campesino’ president Pedro Castillo and his replacement by former ally Dina Boluarte. In the southern Andean town of Juliaca, 17 were killed in one day. Relatives of victims reported police aiming for heads and torsos. Hundreds have been injured.
The thousands who mobilized for anti-government protests, blocking highways, occupying airports and bringing much of the country to a standstill, had a diverse set of grievances. But they shared key demands: Boluarte’s resignation, the closure of Congress, snap elections, and a new constitution.
