Genocide investigation opened against Peru president after protest deaths

Peru’s president and several other top officials have had genocide investigations opened against them by the country’s prosecutors, after 18 people were killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces on Tuesday.

A three day night-time curfew was announced in the southern Puno region in a bid to suppress the violent protests.

In total 40 people have been killed in a month of protests demanding the departure of President Dina Boluarte, who took over after the ouster and arrest of then president Pedro Castillo on 7 December.

Peru’s attorney general said it was launching a preliminary investigation against President Dina Boluarte, the prime minister Alberto Otarola and the country’s defence and interior ministers on charges of genocide, homicide and serious injuries.

The Puno region that borders Bolivia and is home to many Aymara Indigenous people has become the epicentre of the protest movement led by Castillo supporters.

Most of the bloodshed that took place on Tuesday occurred when protesters tried to storm the airport in the city of Juliaca that was being guarded by security forces.

The government has defended the actions of the security forces in Juliaca, claiming those guarding the airport faced down an organised attempted “coup” by thousands of demonstrators.

But UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Marta Hurtado called on authorities “to carry out prompt, impartial and effective investigations into the deaths and injuries, holding those responsible to account and ensuring victims receive access to justice and redress”.

Protests erupted a month ago when leftist Castillo – who was facing several graft investigations – was forced from office and arrested on charges of rebellion after attempting to dissolve parliament and rule by decree.

Tension had since been mounting in the cities of Puno and Juliaca where a week-long general strike has forced businesses to close. Demonstrators have set up road blocks in six of the country’s 25 departments. Officials say there are 53 separate road blocks.

In the southern Andean region of Ayacucho, thousands marched through the streets of the city of Huamanga demanding Boluarte’s resignation and new elections, which have already been brought forward from 2026 to April 2024.

The protests’ death toll brought a rebuke from the UN office in Peru, which expressed its “deep concern over the increasing violence”.

“We urge the authorities and security forces to take urgent measures to ensure the respect of human rights, including the right to protest peacefully,” it added.

Leaders of the Catholic church, which is dominant in Peru, called the latest violence “a situation of war”.

“We are in the hands of barbarism,” Cardinal Pedro Barreto, the archbishop of the central city of Huancayo, told RPP radio station.

The Puno regional government declared three days of mourning over the recent deaths and called on Boluarte to resign.

On Wednesday, a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will visit Peru to investigate the protests and accusations of political repression.