Peru: President Dina Boluarte Responsible for Deaths of Protesters, Says Top Prosecutor

Peru is in the middle of a political crisis as the government has been clamping down on protests against President Dina Boluarte.

Boluarte took power from former President Pedro Castillo, who tried to dissolve Congress to avoid being impeached.

Boluarte is getting even more bad news in regards to those protests as Attorney General Patricia Benavides has filed new charges against her, accusing the embattled Peruvian leader of being the one responsible for the deaths of "several" anti-government protesters earlier this year. Also accused is Prime Minister Alberto Otarola Peñaranda.

The president and the prime minister have been charged with first-degree murder before the nation's congress in a procedure known as a "constitutional complaint." This means that the Congress of Peru will be reviewing the complaint and may lead to a trial should a majority of lawmakers approve.

While the Peruvian constitution protects heads of state from most criminal charges during their time in office, they lose that immunity once out of office. This means that once her term ends or she is forced out of office, she will be open to prosecution even if she did those actions as the president of Peru.

The country is already in the grip of a national crisis as it has had five presidents since 2016, none of them managing to finish their terms of office. Two of them, including Boluarte's predecessor, Pedro Castillo, were even impeached.

In those protests that happened after Castillo was removed from office, at least 49 people were killed. He was replaced by Boluarte, who was his vice president and former running mate. She blamed "criminal groups involved in illegal mining and left-wing radicals" for the violence that killed the protesters.

Peru President Dina Boluarte Denies Allegations, Calls Prosecutor 'Despicable'

As the Peruvian AG gave the charges to Congress, embattled President Dina Boluarte fired back and called Benavides "despicable." She added that the complaint filed against her was "causing astonishment."

"We express our condemnation for such a despicable political maneuver that improperly uses the memory of deceased patriots to distract attention from a very serious complaint against the prosecutor herself," said the president.

She is also rejecting the multiple investigations against her, claiming that they are an attempt to "destabilize the independence of powers" in Peru. However, AG Benevides shot back, saying, "The death of any Peruvian should not be allowed, as well as the abuse of power."

Peru President Dina Boluarte Also Faces Impeachment

Meanwhile, as the political unrest in Peru grows, several lawmakers in the country have filed a motion to impeach President Boluarte for "permanent moral incapacity" for violating Article 115 of the Peruvian Constitution.

The motion was filed by 26 lawmakers from the left, as well as independents, according to AA. The article states that when a president leaves the national territory, "the first vice president takes charge of the office," or "failing that, the second vice president does so." However, Boluarte does not have a vice president, so there is nobody to succeed her.

The articles of impeachment claimed that she broke the law when she left the country for the UN General Assembly, leaving nobody in charge of the government in her absence.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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