Peru | President Boluarte targeted by complaint for alleged homicide of demonstrators

(Lima) The Attorney General of Peru filed a complaint for alleged homicide, Monday before Congress, against the country’s president, Dina Boluarte, for her role in the repression of demonstrations which left more than 50 dead.

“I inform you that I have filed a constitutional complaint before the Congress of the Republic against Dina Boluarte, President of the Republic, and Luis Alberto Otárola,” the Prime Minister, declared Attorney General Patricia Benavides in a televised address.

Dina Boluarte became president of Peru in December 2022 after the impeachment and arrest of left-wing head of state Pedro Castillo, of whom she was vice president.

The repression of the massive pro-Castillo demonstrations that followed left more than 50 dead, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

“The death of a Peruvian man or woman must not be allowed, nor any abuse of power,” added Mr.^me Benavides, who also denounced the fact that his colleagues seek to sully his integrity.

The accusation, which could lead to the dismissal of the president, comes at a time when the prosecutor is facing serious questions about her management of the public prosecutor’s office by senior magistrates calling for her resignation.

The complaint against M^me Boluarte was deposed while M^me Benavides is accused by a prosecutor of leading an alleged criminal network entrenched at the top of the prosecution, from where she allegedly exercised influence peddling with Congress and exchanged political favors.

In this context, M^me Benavides said she would not resign from her position.

In her first public reaction, the Peruvian president called the complaint a “political maneuver” that “aims to divert attention from a very serious complaint against the prosecutor” herself.

In January, Peruvian prosecutors opened an investigation for “genocide, homicide and serious injuries” against M.^me Boluarte for her role in suppressing the protests, but the president enjoys immunity until the end of her term in 2026.

In September, M^me Boluarte appeared before prosecutors for the third time. A parliamentary process, which could take up to three months, will be necessary before Congress can rule on the complaint against the president.

The repression of anti-government demonstrations began on December 7 when Mr.^me Boluarte had just assumed the presidency, and lasted until March. Pedro Castillo is in pre-trial detention in Lima.