[News] Peru: US-Backed Coup Regime Has Murdered 46 Demonstrators

[Anti-Imperialist News]

orinocotribune.com
<https://orinocotribune.com/peru-us-backed-coup-regime-has-murdered-46-demonstrators/>
Peru: US-Backed Coup Regime Has Murdered 46 Demonstrators
------------------------------

Relatives of 18 people killed by police repression wait with empty coffins
outside the morgue of the Carlos Monge Medrano hospital in Juliaca,
southern Peru, on January 10, 2023. Photo: Juan Carlos Cisneros/AFP.

By Steve Lalla  –  Jan 10, 2023

In Peru, the death toll has risen to at least 46 following the December 7
US-backed coup overthrowing democratically elected socialist President
Pedro Castillo.

On January 9 alone, at least 18 were killed by the coup regime’s security
forces in Juliaca. Peru is now mobilized in a national general strike, with
demonstrators demanding the return of the president they elected, Pedro
Castillo, imprisoned without trial since the coup. Video footage has emerged
<https://twitter.com/DalierNews/status/1612984534374535169> of military
troops firing live ammunition at demonstrators, brutally beating unarmed
protesters, and using helicopters to control crowds.

The electoral choice of poor and Indigenous Peruvians, former teacher Pedro
Castillo is Peru’s first Indigenous president and the most left-wing
president in the country’s history. He promised to rewrite Peru’s
Constitution and ensure that the country’s resources were not pillaged by
foreign corporations, as they have been for centuries. He was never allowed
to govern. The right-wing forces in Peru, in league with transnational and
US corporations, tried to impeach him three times, claiming he was morally
or mentally unfit for the position.

Attempting to portray him as a dictator-in-the-making, mainstream media
claim that Castillo carried out a “self-coup.” President Castillo acted
constitutionally at all times, moving to dissolve Congress only after
Congress made it impossible for Castillo to enact any of his campaign
promises and forced dozens of his cabinet ministers out of office. This
motion is clearly provided for in Article 134 of Peru’s Constitution, which
stipulates that the president can dissolve Congress if it refuses to
support two cabinets appointed by the president. Castillo’s administration
was forced to appoint at least four complete cabinets in the first six
months alone, and over 80 ministers in less than 18 months in office.

The US has supported Castillo’s overthrow since day one. The US speedily
expressed support for Castillo’s replacement, the coup leader Boluarte,
recognizing her “presidency” minutes after she was appointed by the coup
regime. Washington, DC-based Organization of American States, which
presents itself as an arbiter of democracy across the Americas, promptly
issued a statement steeped in hypocrisy, claiming
<https://www.agenzianova.com/en/news/gli-stati-americani-salutano-con-favore-lappello-allunita-della-neopresidente-del-peru/>
that it supported peace, democracy, and the unelected “president” of the
coup regime.

Mainstream media outlets exploded immediately with the news that Peru now
had its first woman president. Of course, that would have been great news,
had she been elected, but Boluarte has never received any votes for
president; nevertheless, she initially stated that she would occupy the
presidency until 2026.

The blood of Peruvians is on the hands of the US. In 2021, under disgraced
president Donald Trump, the US appointed CIA agent
<http://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/14/coup-us-ambassador-peru-cia/>
Lisa Kenna as ambassador to Peru. Kenna was “senior aide” to Trump’s
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who previously headed the CIA. Kenna met
<https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/14/coup-us-ambassador-peru-cia/>
with Peru’s minister of defense the day before the coup—perhaps to suggest
that he arrest the president, which is what Peru’s security forces did the
following day, December 7, 2022. The US has armed and trained
<https://www.army.mil/article/191172/us_military_police_train_peruvian_partners_strengthen_20_years_of_cooperation>
Peru’s military for decades and continues to occupy the nation via its
naval base in the capital, Lima, and numerous US Southern Command
(SOUTHCOM) radar sites.

The coup and the massacres have sparked a mass uprising in Peru. A general
strike is occurring; barricades have been set up in at least 45
municipalities. Let us hope that—as we saw in Bolivia in 2020—democracy can
be restored and an administration that stands up for the rights of the poor
and Indigenous is able to take power. Whether in the short or long term,
the people’s struggle against exploitation will determine the course of
history.


Special for Orinoco Tribune by Steve Lalla

Steve Lalla

Steve Lalla is a journalist, researcher and analyst. His areas of interest
include geopolitics, history, and current affairs. He has contributed to
Counterpunch, Resumen LatinoAmericano English, ANTICONQUISTA, Orinoco
Tribune, and others.
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