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Pedro Castillo

Lawfare In Perú: Trial Of Rupture

March 12, 2025 Clau O'Brien Moscoso, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
On March 4, José Pedro Castillo Terrones, Peru’s first Indigenous rural president, went before the Supreme Court in what he, his lawyers and supporters have called a “show trial” for the supposed crime of rebellion. Since being overthrown in a 2022 coup, Castillo has spent the past two years in Penal Barbadillo (a prison) in conditions described as torture. He is said to be under pre-trial detention, itself a violation of his human rights. Shortly after Castillo gave an announcement that he would pursue closing Congress , a primary demand of the Peruvian masses for years, Congress swiftly moved to impeach him. In a chain of procedural missteps, Congress rammed through (illegally, as his lawyers argue) the impeachment of Castillo.

Trial Against Ousted President Pedro Castillo Begins In Peru

March 7, 2025 Pablo Meriguet, People's Dispatch. , , ,
The trial against former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo began in Peru on March 4. Castillo is accused of rebellion, abuse of authority, and disturbing the public peace for allegedly attempting to dissolve the National Congress at the end of 2022. Castillo has been held in jail for over two years since his dismissal by the Congress. Also accused are the former president of the Council of Secretaries of State, Betssy Chávez, and the former First Secretary, Aníbal Torres. The latter has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Castillo appeared without a lawyer at the opening of the oral trial in the Special Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, presided by Judge José Neyra Flores.

US Reinforces Control Over Peru

October 21, 2024 La Línea, Orinoco Tribune. , , , , ,
On June 7, 2021, a political earthquake occurred in Peru. A political outsider, the rural teacher Pedro Castillo, was elected president of the country with the promise of transforming a political and economic system built on great inequalities among the Peruvian population. The first measure taken by this government was the initiative of Foreign Minister Héctor Béjar to leave the Lima Group, which weakened the regime change operation against Venezuela, initiated by the United States. The foreign minister’s sovereign decision would cost him his job. Just 15 days after taking office, he was dismissed by Congress.

Venezuela: US Government Cites Groups It Funds To Allege Electoral ‘Fraud’

August 4, 2024 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , , , ,
The US State Department, which has sponsored several coup attempts in Venezuela, has claimed that the US-backed right-wing opposition candidate won the country’s presidential election, supposedly defeating incumbent President Nicolás Maduro. As purported evidence, Washington only cited groups that are funded by the US government. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has overseen US-backed coups against democratically elected governments in Peru and Pakistan, published a statement on August 1 claiming that “Edmundo González Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election”.

Most Important Stories Of 2023: Gaza, Ukraine, China, BRICS, Dedollarization, Bank Crises, Inflation

December 31, 2023 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
These were the most important geopolitical and economic issues of 2023, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, US-China tensions, BRICS expansion, growing de-dollarization, inflation crisis, crypto fraud, bank crashes, European de-industrialization, and more.

For The Crisis In Perú To End, Castillo Must Be Reinstated

August 5, 2023 Clau O'Brien Moscoso, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
July 28th 2023 marked the 202nd anniversary of the liberation of Perú from Spanish colonial rule by José de San Martin. Typically, the country would be celebrating its Fiestas Patrias in grand style with parades and parties that last several days. This year, the mood is somber because the Peruvian masses believe there is nothing to celebrate. Families of the martyrs of the Dina Boluarte coup regime and their supporters marked the day by gathering outside Congress while the de facto leader gave perhaps the longest speech in recent Peruvian history. On behalf of the state, Boluarte apologized to the families of those killed during protests.

Mexico Refuses To Hand Over Trade Bloc Presidency To Peru

May 17, 2023 People's Dispatch. , , , ,
Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), on Monday, May 15, once again refused to hand over the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance to Peru’s de facto president of Peru, Dina Boluarte. President AMLO said that there was a consensus between Mexico, Colombia and Chile not to give the presidency of the alliance to Peru. “There are four countries [in the bloc]: Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru. And the opinion of the president of Colombia is similar to mine and the president of Chile. He is [also] not interested in giving Peru the presidency of this group called the Pacific Alliance… We can hand it over to Chile, to Colombia and let them decide what they [want to] do

US Interventionism In The Peruvian Justice System

May 10, 2023 José Carlos Llerena, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
On April 13, US Ambassador to Peru Lisa Kenna posted a photo with the Peruvian Attorney General Patricia Benavides on her personal Twitter account. She added that the two had a meeting to discuss “the importance of moving forward with investigations of incidents of violence and human rights cases in recent months”. This tweet is further evidence to not only the role played by the US embassy in the coup d’état against President Pedro Castillo Terrones on December 7, 2022, but also a long history of US interventionism in the justice system of our country. It also shows that today, in a period of multi-polar transition, is extremely strategic for the US to take care of its “Backyard” and give continuity to the Monroe Doctrine.

Peru’s Coup-plotting Congress Has 6% Approval, 91% Disapproval

April 17, 2023 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , ,
A study by a leading polling firm in Peru found that the country’s coup-plotting congress has an approval rating of just 6%, with a staggering 91% disapproval. The South American nation’s unelected president, Dina Boluarte, has the approval of just 15% of Peruvians, with 78% disapproval. In December 2022, Peru’s democratically elected leftist President Pedro Castillo was overthrown in a congressional coup. The military arrested him, and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, without due process. The US ambassador in Peru, Lisa Kenna, is a CIA veteran who strongly supported the coup against Castillo, and has collaborated closely with Boluarte.

Peruvian Legislators Present Impeachment Motion Against Boluarte

April 3, 2023 People's Dispatch. , , , ,
On Thursday March 30, Peruvian legislators from the parliamentary benches of progressive Free Peru, Democratic Peru and Democratic Change-Together for Peru political parties presented in Congress a vacancy motion against the de-facto President Dina Boluarte for “permanent moral incapacity” to continue in office. The left-wing legislators condemned Boluarte for unleashing brutal police and military repression against peaceful protesters during the past four months of protests against her government. The legislators pointed out that at least 49 protesters have been killed in these months at the hands of public security forces.

President Pedro Castillo: ‘I Did Not Want To Obey The Power Groups’

February 9, 2023 Víctor Castellanos, Orinoco Tribune. , , ,
On Tuesday, February 7, El Salto published an exclusive interview with Peruvian President Pedro Castillo. Castillo has been detained for two months since being ousted by congress, which immediately placed Dina Boluarte in power. In the interview, Castillo stressed that he did not want to obey “social and economic power groups… putting the people above all else.” From the moment of his irregular arrest, protests began in Peru. More than 60 deaths have occurred due to the repression ordered by Boluarte, plunging the country into a deep and violent political and institutional crisis. The discontent manifested in various areas of Peru and has moved to the capital, Lima. Protesters are demanding Boluarte’s resignation, early elections and the constituent assembly that Castillo had promised.

Peru: Overthrow Of President Castillo Exposes The Race And Class Divide

December 26, 2022 Francesca Emanuele, Council on Hemispheric Affairs. , , , ,
Unfulfilled campaign promises, accusations of corruption, and even an attempted self-coup cannot turn the many supporters of Peruvian President Pedro Castillo against him. The president has probably ceased to represent hopes for change,  but he still symbolizes —perhaps more now than ever— structural discrimination in Peru. In Lima, the political, economic, and intellectual elites are intrigued. They wonder why the majority of Peruvians in the streets are demanding Castillo’s release. They are even more disconcerted by the minority that insists he be reinstated. It is not surprising that the ruling class is disoriented. For decades they have been isolated from the rest of the country, moving about comfortably in Lima’s de facto Apartheid, perpetuating a dynamic that tends to dehumanize Indigenous, working-class Peruvians.

Peru: Congress To Advance Elections As Anti-Coup Protests Intensify

December 26, 2022 Tanya Wadhwa, People's Dispatch. , , , ,
The decision to change the electoral calendar came following the call for further intensification of nationwide protests demanding the release and reinstatement of ousted left-wing President Pedro Castillo, the resignation of the de-facto President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of the right-wing dominated unicameral Congress, fresh parliamentary elections, and the establishment of a Constituent Assembly to change the country’s 1993 Constitution. On Monday, December 19, several Indigenous, peasant, and social movements from Apurímac, Arequipa, Ayacucho, and Puno regions, among others, called on the citizens to strengthen strikes and reinforce roadblocks across the country, beginning December 20. The legislators of the left-wing Free Peru party, which sponsored Castillo’s presidential candidacy in 2021, voted against the bill and insisted on their demand to call for Constituent Assembly elections alongside the next general elections.

Peruvians Resist The Coup: ‘We Are Here To Support Our President’

December 21, 2022 Zoe Alexandra, People's Dispatch. , , ,
“You’re probably wondering who paid me to be here,” a man in his 40s, from the southern Andean province of Ica, said to me. “Well, no one paid me to be here. We are doing this because our hearts are with the homeland, because I want my Peru to change, because a government that was trying to do this was unjustly overthrown.” Luis Alberto (name changed) is one of hundreds of Peruvians who traveled to Peru’s capital, leaving behind his home and his employment, to protest the coup against Pedro Castillo as well as his detention, which took place on December 7, 2022. We met outside the Barbadillo Prison in the eastern part of Lima. This prison is where constitutional president Pedro Castillo is being held in pre-trial detention, which was just extended to 18 months by a judge on Thursday, December 15.

Why Peru Has Had Seven Presidents In Six Years

December 18, 2022 Lee Foulkes and Ben Norton, Multipolarista. , , , , , , , , , ,
In just over six years, Peru has had seven different presidents. The period between July 2016 and December 2022 has been a time of deep political instability. This chaos is largely due to Peru’s deeply undemocratic constitution, which was inherited from the far-right US-backed dictator Alberto Fujimori, who governed the country with an iron fist from 1990 until 2000, committing genocide against the Indigenous population and killing, torturing, and disappearing thousands of dissidents. Article 113 of Peru’s constitution gives the unicameral congress the ability to remove presidents if two-thirds of members vote to declare that they have a “moral incapacity.”
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