EU concerned about Peru protesters 'killed', urges calm

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.

Some 20 people have died in clashes since embattled 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, which has seen the deployment of armed soldiers amid a state of emergency declared under Castillo's successor Dina Boluarte, has left several protesters dead.

"The EU condemns any use of violence and any excessive use of force," the European 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."

On Sunday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken to Boluarte, urging her 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 from his political rivals, 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 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 on 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.

Castillo's wife, Lilia Paredes, stands accused by prosecutors 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' 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.