International
EU concerned about Peru protesters ‘killed’, urges calm
| By AFP |
The European Union added its voice Monday to calls for calm after nearly two weeks of protests prompted by the ouster of leftist ex-president Pedro Castillo.
Security officials say 21 people have died in clashes since Castillo was abruptly removed from power and arrested early this month after seeking to dissolve Congress to rule by decree.
His impeachment and detention drew criticism from leftist Latin American allies including Mexico, as well as from thousands of supporters who took to the streets to demand his release.
A subsequent security clampdown, including the deployment of armed soldiers during a state of emergency declared under Castillo’s successor Dina Boluarte, has killed several protesters.
“The EU condemns any use of violence and any excessive use of force,” the bloc said in a statement Monday.
It expressed concern about “reports that more than two dozen civilians have been killed so far, some of them by firearms, and many more injured during recent protests.”
The EU called for a “spirit of dialogue and cooperation to stop violence.”
In addition to the deaths, the repression of demonstrations has also left 646 people injured, including 290 policemen, according to the office of Peru’s human rights ombudsman.
On Sunday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken to Boluarte, urging the new president to pursue reforms and “focus on reconciliation.”
Castillo, a former rural school teacher and union leader, unexpectedly took power from Peru’s traditional political elite in elections last year.
He immediately came under fire, surviving two early impeachment bids, and soon also found himself in the cross-hairs of prosecutors looking into numerous graft claims.
He is the subject of six separate criminal investigations.
Castillo’s short term was plagued by instability, with three prime ministers and seven interior ministers coming and going in just over a year.
Opinion polls revealed massive public disapproval of Castillo’s management of the country, but thousands nevertheless spilled onto the streets when he was arrested.
‘Criminal organization’
By Monday, the protests appeared to be waning, with smaller groups gathered calmly in several parts of the country, waving signs denouncing Boluarte as a “killer” and demanding her resignation.
They also want elections scheduled for 2026 to be brought forward to next year — a measure that lawmakers will consider this week.
Demonstrations have shaken the country since Castillo’s impeachment on December 7, with roadblocks and airport disruptions and thousands of tourists left stranded.
Operations at the airport of Arequipa, Peru’s second busiest, resumed Monday after a week of closure due to protesters obstructing the runway with stones, sticks and burning tires.
Neighbor Chile announced, meanwhile, that a chartered plane would evacuate stranded visitors to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu to Lima.
Castillo is being held in pre-trial detention on charges of rebellion and conspiracy.
Boluarte, who was Castillo’s vice president and took over after he was impeached, said Sunday that Mexico had offered asylum to Castillo’s graft-accused family.
Speaking on the Panorama TV program, she did not specify whether the family members — Castillo’s wife, two children and sister-in-law — have left the country.
Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and fellow leftist leaders of Bolivia, Argentina and Colombia have all expressed support for Castillo.
Prosecutors have accused Castillo’s wife, Lilia Paredes, of criminal conspiracy and money laundering as part of an alleged graft network headed by her husband.
The “criminal organization” Castillo stands accused of running is alleged to have handed out public contracts in exchange for kickbacks.
Paredes’s sister Yenifer is also accused in the alleged plot.
The country is no stranger to instability: it had three different presidents in five days in 2020, and now six presidents since 2016.
Six of Peru’s last seven presidents were investigated or prosecuted after their terms came to an end.
International
Four suspected PCC members killed in Police shootout in Florianópolis
At least four armed men, allegedly linked to an organized crime group, were killed Sunday night during a shootout with police officers at Ponta das Canas beach on the island of Florianópolis, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, local media reported on Monday.
According to the Santa Catarina Military Police, one of the men killed was a native of the state of São Paulo (southeast) and identified as a leader of the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), a gang that controls drug trafficking in the Papaquara community in northern Florianópolis, one of Brazil’s most popular tourist areas.
Police said officers were conducting a patrol in the Ponta das Canas neighborhood when they noticed a man entering a house in a hurry, raising suspicion. Upon entering the residence, they encountered four heavily armed individuals.
During the police operation, one of the suspects reportedly attempted to seize an officer’s rifle, triggering the exchange of gunfire. “Faced with the imminent threat and the criminals’ high firepower, the officers responded to stop the aggression,” the Military Police said on social media.
International
U.S. uses $4.65 billion in emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits amid shutdown
The U.S. government will use $4.65 billion from an emergency fund to finance payments under SNAP, the country’s primary food assistance program, covering roughly “50% of benefits for eligible households,” according to a Department of Agriculture official in court filings.
The administration, however, does not plan to make up the funding shortfall through other resources, as noted in documents submitted to a federal court in Rhode Island.
This announcement follows a federal judge’s order in Providence — one of two issued last week — requiring the government to tap emergency funds to ensure the program remains operational.
The Trump administration argues that SNAP is running out of money amid a month-long federal government shutdown, triggered by a budget standoff between Democrats and Republicans who continue to blame each other for the crisis.
President Trump said on Friday that he was willing to release the necessary funds if the courts required it and emphasized that he does not want “Americans to go hungry.”
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic minority leader in the House of Representatives, accused Trump and the Republican Party on Sunday of “weaponizing hunger” during the political dispute.
International
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
A U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, marking the latest in a series of attacks in international waters.
The United States has deployed ships to the Caribbean and sent fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a large military force that Washington says is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.
“This vessel, like all the others, was known to our intelligence for being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated on X. “Three narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters,” he added.
Experts argue that the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial executions, even if the targets are known traffickers.
Washington has yet to publicly provide evidence that the targeted individuals were actively smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.
Hegseth said the U.S. would continue “hunting… and killing” suspected traffickers. He also shared video footage of the strike, showing the vessel being hit and engulfed in flames. As in previous videos, sections of the ship were blurred, making it impossible to verify the number of people on board.
The United Nations called on Friday for Washington to halt its attacks.
Four suspected PCC members killed in Police shootout in Florianópolis
U.S. uses $4.65 billion in emergency funds to sustain SNAP benefits amid shutdown
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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