One week into office, Peru's new President Dina Boluarte battles to ...

CNN —

One week into her presidency, Peru’s new President Dina Boluarte is battling to contain widespread protests that erupted after the ousting of former President Pedro Castillo. She is the country’s sixth president in less than five years.

Boluarte announced Tuesday the government will set up a crisis management committee as protests calling for political change continue across the country. The committee will be led by Pedro Angulo, President of the Council of Ministers of Peru, and will include other representatives including the heads of the defense, transport, interior and communication ministries among others, the presidency announced on Twitter Tuesday.

Truck drivers wait as demonstrators block a highway to Lima while demanding early elections and the release of ousted leader Pedro Castillo, in Ica, Peru December 13, 2022. Sebastian Castaneda/Reuters

Demonstrators continue to protest despite a government proposal to bring forward elections following the ouster of Peruvian leader Pedro Castillo, in Lima, Peru on December 13, 2022. Alessandro Cinque/Reuters

Castillo has denied allegations of conspiracy and rebellion, following his impeachment and arrest last week.

The former president has been detained last week. His seven-day preventive detention order was due to end at 1:42 p.m. ET on Wednesday. In a handwritten letter posted on Twitter, Castillo called for supporters to gather at that time at the detention center in Lima where he is being held.

However, a hearing to determine whether Castillo’s detention will be extended has been postponed to Thursday morning, said Judge Juan Carlos Checkley at a virtual court session on Wednesday. Checkley said that Castillo will remain detained until then.

Protesters in Arequipa, Peru. Oswald Charca/Reuters

The military stand guard at an official building after demonstrations turned violent. Diego Ramos/AFP/Getty Images

Army deployed to the streets

Castillo’s supporters have been protesting since his arrest and impeachment last week. As of Tuesday evening, national roads in at least 14 regions across the country have been blocked by protests, the National Police of Peru said in a statement.

The army has been deployed in Peru to protect public spaces across the country amid ongoing protests, according to a statement by Peruvian Defense Minister Luis Alberto Otárola on Tuesday evening.

“The immediate protection by the Armed Forces of the strategic points of national assets, airports, hydroelectric plants and all that infrastructure that, due to its strategic value, serves to guarantee the life and subsistence of all Peruvians, has been ordered,” Otárola explained in a statement broadcast by Peru’s state-run media, Peru TV.

Castillo's removal from power accelerated long-simmering political tensions in the country. Alessandro Cinque/Reuters

The defense minister also declared a state of emergency for the national road network.

“We are going to assume control of the national road network throughout the country, to ensure the free transit of all Peruvians,” Otárola said.

He also said that a state of emergency has specifically been implemented in the southern cities of Arequipa and Ica, “so that the Armed Forces and the National Police can take control of the internal order.”

Here’s what you need to know

What has sparked Peru’s recent unrest?

Peru was plunged into more political turmoil when Castillo was impeached and arrested on December 7, after he announced plans to dissolve Congress and install an emergency government ahead of a looming impeachment vote by lawmakers.

Boluarte, his former vice president, has since become president, and on Monday proposed bringing general elections forward two years to April 2024 during a televised speech.

Castillo’s removal from power accelerated long-simmering political tensions in the country. Since last week, demonstrations have erupted in cities across the country, sometimes marked by clashes with Peru’s security forces. Some are protesting in support of Castillo, while others want a total reset of the country with fresh general elections and a dissolution of Congress.

Who is Pedro Castillo?

Elected in July 2021 by a narrow margin in a runoff, the former leftist leader promised “to govern with the people and for the people” but his short-lived presidency has largely focused on his own political survival.

A former rural school teacher, Castillo survived two impeachment attempts in his first year as president and faces six ongoing investigations by the office of the National Prosecutor.

His government was mired in chaos since inauguration, with dozens of ministers appointed, replaced, sacked or resigned in little over a year – piling further pressure on the embattled president ahead of his ousting last week.

Castillo has railed against the opposition for trying to remove him from the first day he was in office and accused Peru’s Attorney General, Patricia Benavides, of orchestrating what he called a new form of “coup d’état” against him.

In October, Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against him based on three of the six investigations her office had opened. The complaint allowed congress to carry out its own investigation against the former president.

The national prosecutor’s office has looked into a cascade of investigations on whether Castillo used his position to benefit himself, his family and closest allies by peddling influence to gain favor or preferential treatment, among other claims.

Castillo has repeatedly denied all allegations and reiterated his willingness to cooperate with any investigation. He argues the allegations are a result of a witch-hunt against him and his family from groups that failed to accept his election victory.

Are the protests violent?

At least seven people have died in the protests ongoing in Peru, according to a tweet from the health ministry on Wednesday.

Two minors are among those killed, Peru’s ombudsman’s press office said on Tuesday. And at least 47 individuals were hospitalized as a result of protests in the cities of Lima, Apurímac, Huancavelica and Arequipa, Peru’s Health Ministry tweeted.

Boluarte on Tuesday called for calm to be restored to the country, and said that she had instructed police not to use any lethal arms against protesters.

“Everyone has the right to protest but not to commit vandalism, burn hospitals, ambulances, police stations, assault airports, (these) are not normal protests, we have reached the extreme,” Boluarte added.

What other disruption has the unrest caused?

Trail and air travel across some regions of Peru has been affected by the demonstrations. Trains to and from Machu Picchu were suspended from Tuesday, rail operator PeruRail said in a statement.

“We regret the inconvenience that these announcements generate for our passengers; however, they are due to situations beyond the control of our company and seek to prioritize the safety of passengers and workers,” the statement read.

Flights have also been disrupted due to protests, with LATAM Airlines Peru announcing the temporary suspension of services to and from airports in the cities of Arequipa and Cuzco.

Protesters attempted to storm the terminal at Alejandro Velasco Astete International Airport in Cuzco on Monday, according to the Peruvian Corporation of Airports and Commercial Aviation (CORPAC).

So far there have been no reports of injuries, arrests or damage to the airport, according to CORPAC.

What do the demonstrators want?

Demonstrators have called for a general election, the dissolution of Congress, and the creation of a new constituent assembly.

Fernando Tuesta Soldevilla, a professor of political science at Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), told CNN the protests represented a violent show of anger against “everything that has accumulated in the last few years: increasing social and economic ruptures.”

He added that protesters were also demonstrating over social and environmental issues, on top of their “furious rejection of Congress.”

However Peruvian lawmakers hold the key to calling new elections and they are unlikely to do so as they would be voting themselves out of a job, according to Tuesta Soldevilla.

Will Boluarte’s ascendency bring stability?

Peru has been racked with political instability in recent years, with many Peruvians calling for political change, according to a September poll by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, which found 60% of those surveyed supported early elections to refresh both the presidency and Congress.

It is unclear if Boluarte’s ascendancy to the presidency can gain widespread political buy-in.

Boluarte “does not have a recognized political career,” said Tuesta Soldevilla. “And without partisan support, political party or social organization behind her, she is weak from the beginning.”

“Everyone knows when Dina Boluarte’s government began, but no one can be sure how long it will last,” he told CNN.

Boluarte also doesn’t belong to a political party after she was expelled from Peru Libre due to internal disagreements. She would need to build bridges and achieve some consensus with the opposition in Congress to stay in office.

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Sophie Tanno

US embassy convoy attacked in Haiti | CNN Politics

CNN —

A US embassy convoy was attacked in Haiti on Monday, according to a senior US official and a State Department spokesperson.

A Haitian driver was slightly injured but no embassy staff were hurt, the official said.

“Armed individuals fired shots at the Haitian National Police vehicles, US Embassy vehicles, and Haitian commercial vehicles this morning,” the State Department spokesperson said.

“No embassy personnel were injured,” they said. “One Haitian commercial driver accompanying the convoy was injured with non-life-threatening injuries.”

“We do not have any additional information at this time,” the spokesperson said.

A security source in Haiti, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak, confirmed that a US embassy convoy was attacked by the 400 Mawozo gang Monday.

The attack is the latest incident in a country overtaken by violent gangs and comes a year after the nation’s serving President Jovenel Moise was murdered. Port-au-Prince was the site of brutal gang battles this summer that saw whole neighborhoods set aflame, displacing thousands of families and trapping others in their homes, afraid to leave even in search of food and water.

Late last month a Haitian politician, Eric Jean Baptiste was shot dead outside his home and the number of Haitians displaced by recent gang-related violence in the capital has tripled in the past five months, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) said last month.

The IOM report said more than 113,000 people were internally displaced from Port-au-Prince between June and August this year, with nearly 90,000 of them due to “urban violence linked to inter-gang, gang-police, and social conflicts.”

Criminals still control or influence parts of the country’s most populous city, and kidnappings for ransom threaten residents’ day-to-day movements. In recent weeks, demonstrators in several cities called for Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s resignation in the face of high fuel prices, soaring inflation and unchecked crime.

Last month, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called an “absolutely nightmarish situation” in Haiti with gangs blocking the movement of fuel and other materials in the Port-au-Prince harbor. The country is facing a humanitarian crisis, while a cholera outbreak has also left dozens dead.

Guterres has urged the international community to consider deploying forces to the country to address growing humanitarian and security crises in the country.

Biden administration official are working with “capitals around the world to discuss the potential for a mission endorsed by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said last week, but the makeup of any such mission remains unclear.

“The status quo remains untenable. It remains untenable for the Haitian people. We hope to see continued improvement in the humanitarian situation. The actions of the Haitian National Police may lead to further improvements. But there continue to be longer-term challenges that an enabling force authorized by the UN Security Council would be able to help address,” Price said.

Search continues for pair missing in Amazon area known for illegal ...

São Paulo CNN —

The families of a British journalist and a Brazilian indigenous affairs expert are calling on Brazilian authorities to intensify their search efforts for the pair, who went missing in a remote part of the Brazilian Amazon this weekend.

Concerns are growing over the fate of Dom Phillips and Bruno Araújo Pereira, who were first reported missing in the remote Javari Valley, in the far western part of Amazonas state on Sunday. They had reportedly received death threats just days prior.

Phillips’s wife, Alessandra Sampaio, posted a video on Tuesday pleading for the federal government to step up their search operations, saying, “We still have a little bit of hope that we’ll find them.”

“Even if they don’t find the love of my life alive, they have to be found, please,” she said.

Home to thousands of indigenous people and about 16 uncontacted groups, the Javari Valley – the second largest official indigenous land in Brazil – is a patchwork of rivers and dense forest that makes access very difficult. The area has come under increased threat from illegal miners, loggers, hunters and international drug traffickers exploiting its vast network of rivers.

Phillips is an Amazon specialist and long-time contributor for UK newspaper The Guardian. He had traveled to the region with Pereira, a staffer on leave from the Brazilian Indigenous National Foundation (FUNAI), to conduct research for a book project on conservation efforts there.

On Sunday, the men were supposed to take a two-hour trip to Atalaia do Norte, which borders the valley and Peru. According to the Coordination of the Indigenous Organization (UNIVAJA), they never arrived.

Phillips and Pereira had received death threats in the week leading up to their disappearance, UNIVAJA said.

While the Javari Valley is under government protection, it’s considered lawless, with repeated incursions by land grabbers, illegal miners, illegal hunters and illegal fisherman. It can be a hostile environment for journalists and indigenous rights activists.

“In this region, violence is advancing in an increasingly uncontrolled manner in the context of the invasion of indigenous lands and lands that belong to the state, repression of the freedom of press and the work of journalists,” UNIVAJA said in a statement.

In 2018, Phillips reported on the threats posed by illegal mining and cattle ranchers to uncontacted indigenous groups there, with Pereira at the heart of that article.

Survival International, an NGO that advocates for indigenous peoples, said that Pereira had previously received “many threats” as a result of his work as an “ally of the Indigenous struggle.”

Illegal activity in the Javari Valley

Antenor Vaz, a consultant for the isolated indigenous peoples group Land is Life, blames the Bolsonaro administration’s funding cuts to FUNAI – Brazil’s federal government’s indigenous agency – for contributing to the proliferation of illicit activities in the protected area.

“In (2019), illicit actions from narcotrafficking and golddiggers increased in a staggering manner. This was when international drug trafficking partnered with illegal mining and logging activities,” said Vaz, who previously worked at FUNAI in the Javari Valley.

In September 2019, indigenous affairs worker Maxciel Pereira dos Santos was murdered in the same area, according to Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office. In a statement, a union group representing FUNAI workers cited evidence that dos Santos’ murder was retaliation for his efforts to combating illegal commercial extraction in the Javari Valley, Reuters reported at the time.

President Jair Bolsonaro campaigned in 2018 on opening indigenous territories to economic activities, such as mining and farming. Since he has been in power, he has made good on that promise, including effectively weakening FUNAI’s power by transferring its jurisdiction from the Ministry of Justice to the Ministry of Agriculture Ministry.

Bolsonaro has long argued that the natural resources of indigenous lands must be put to use for indigenous groups’ own economic welfare and that of the country. But many indigenous groups disagree with Bolsonaro’s vision of profiting from wild lands.

Commenting on the disappearance on Tuesday, Bolsonaro appeared to question the choice to venture into the isolated area.

“Two people alone on a boat, in a region like that, completely wild. It is an unrecommended adventure. Anything can happen, it could be an accident, it could be that they have been executed, anything could have happened,” Bolsonaro said.

“We hope and pray to God that they will be found soon,” he said, adding that the military was working “very hard.”

‘Escalation of violence’

Late Monday, the search and rescue operation began, after a delay attributed to a bureaucratic process earlier in the day.

The Amazon Military Command said they had deployed a team of military jungle combatants and a speedboat for the search, along with the Navy, who was seen deploying in images released on Tuesday morning.

The Amazonas state security department said they sent reinforcements to the Javari Valley on Tuesday, including divers, jungle experts, firemen, detectives, military police, and environmental police.

Pereira’s partner, Beatriz, and his two brothers, Max and Felipe, have pleaded for search operations to be intensified, saying in a Tuesday statement that “the safety of indigenous peoples and search teams must also be guaranteed.”

Phillips’s sister, Sian Phillips, said in a video that her brother “loves the country and cares deeply about the Amazon and the people there.”

“We knew it was a dangerous place, but Dom believes it is possible to safeguard the nature and the livelihood of the indigenous people,” she said”

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Camilo Rocha
Marcia Reverdosa
Kara Fox

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in critical condition ...

Tokyo CNN —

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is in critical condition and fighting for his life after being shot in the street in broad daylight while making a campaign speech in the central city of Nara, in an attack that has shocked the nation.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a press conference on Friday that Abe is receiving emergency treatment at the Nara Medical University hospital, where medical staff are fighting to save him.

“This is not a forgivable act,” Kishida said. “We will comprehend the situation and take appropriate measures.”

Abe’s younger brother, Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters Abe was receiving a blood transfusion. Shortly afterward, Abe’s wife arrived at the hospital to be with her husband, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported.

An official from the Nara City Fire Department earlier confirmed to CNN that Abe was in a state of cardiopulmonary arrest, a term used to describe the sudden loss of heart function and breathing.

An aerial photo shows a man believed to be former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the stretcher at Nara Medical University Hospital in Kashihara, Nara Prefecture on July 8. Shohei Izumi/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP

Abe is the former Liberal Democratic Party leader and Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, holding office from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 2020, before resigning due to health reasons. Since stepping down, he has remained in the public eye and regularly appears in the media to discuss current affairs.

Abe was rushed to hospital via helicopter in the aftermath of the shooting. According to police, he was believed to have been shot twice, in the chest and neck, NHK reported.

A suspect, identified as Tetsuya Yamagami, a local man in his 40s, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, according to NHK. It appears the suspect used a handmade gun in the attack, though the motive remains unclear. He is being held for questioning at Nara Nishi police station, NHK reported.

Photos from the scene show the weapon on the ground, wrapped in black material.

CNN has not yet been able to independently verify these reports.

Video aired on NHK and images from the scene show police wrestling a man to the ground near where the former Prime Minister was standing. Another video aired by NHK shows smoke in the air.

What appears to be a homemade weapon on the ground near where a security officer seized a suspect believed to have shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in front of Yamatosaidaiji Station on July 8, in Nara, Japan. Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

Prime Minister Kishida, who was on a tour of duty, rushed back to his office and government ministers in various parts of the country had been urged to return to Tokyo immediately, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

“Such barbaric behavior is unacceptable for any reason and we firmly condemn it. The government will take all possible measures to deal with the situation,” Matsuno said.

How events unfolded

Abe was making a speech in support of LDP candidates ahead of the upcoming Upper House elections scheduled for Sunday. He was due to head to Kyoto and Saitama prefecture, near the capital Tokyo.

Video aired by NHK captured the moments leading up to the shooting and show Abe speaking to a small crowd in the street in front of Yamatosaidaiji Station in Nara. In subsequent video two shots can be heard.

In this aerial image, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on a stretcher to a helicopter after being shot in front of Yamatosaidaiji Station on July 8. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

The former Prime Minister was conscious and responsive while being transported following the shooting, police sources told NHK.

Images show Abe being carried on a stretcher to a helicopter.

Outpouring of global concern

World leaders sent well wishes and messages of condolence in the wake of the shooting.

The United States Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel said in a tweet early Friday, “We are all saddened and shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.”

“Abe-san has been an outstanding leader of Japan and unwavering ally of the US The US Government and American people are praying for the well-being of Abe-san, his family, & people of Japan.”

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks moments before being shot in front of the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara, Japan, on Friday, July 8. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images Abe lies on the ground after being shot. Kyodo News/AP Abe is carried to a helicopter after being shot. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images A police officer detains suspect Tetsuya Yamagami after the shooting on Friday. The Asahi Shimbun/Reuters Abe's wife, Akie, arrives in Nara on Friday before heading to the hospital where her husband was transferred. Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to the media about Abe on Friday. Masanori Genko/AP People are silhouetted against a video screen in Tokyo showing news of Abe's death. Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images Head of University Hospital Kimihiko Kichikawa, center left, and professor of emergency medicine, Hidetada Fukushima, hold a press conference in Kashihara, Japan, where Abe was confirmed dead on Friday. Philip Fong/AFP/Getty Images Newspapers carrying news of Abe's death are distributed in Tokyo on Friday. Christopher Jue/Getty Images A man lays flowers at the site where Abe was shot on Friday. Osamu Kanazawa/The Yomiuri Shimbun/Reuters Media crews gather in an area near the Yamato-Saidaiji Station in Nara on Friday. Kyodo News/Getty Images This aerial photo shows a man believed to be Abe on a stretcher at a hospital in Kashihara on Friday. Shohei Izumi/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP An ambulance carries Abe from the shooting site in Nara. Kazuhiko Hirano/AP Police tackle suspect Tetsuya Yamagami on Friday. The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images A television screen in Tokyo's Yurakucho area shows news of Abe's shooting on Friday. Kyodo News/Getty Images People walk near the location in Nara where Abe was shot on Friday. Kyodo/Reuters This aerial photo, taken from a Kyodo News helicopter in Nara, shows the area where Abe was shot. Kyodo News/Getty Images In pictures: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assassinated Prev Next

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he is “utterly appalled and saddened to hear about the despicable attack on Shinzo Abe,” while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “deeply distressed by the attack on my dear friend.”

Among those sharing messages of support and concern were US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard.

Japan’s low gun crime

Abe’s shooting has shocked Japan, which has one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world due to its extremely strict gun control laws.

In 2018, Japan only reported nine deaths from firearms, compared with 39,740 that year in the United States, according to data compiled by the Sydney School of Public Health at the University of Sydney.

Under Japan’s firearms laws, the only guns permitted for sale are shotguns and air rifles – handguns are outlawed. But getting them is a long and complicated process.

Nancy Snow, Japan director of the International Security Industrial Council, told CNN that Friday’s shooting will change the country “forever.”

“It’s not only rare, but it’s really culturally unfathomable,” Snow said. “The Japanese people can’t imagine having a gun culture like we have in the United States. This is a speechless moment. I really feel at a loss for words. I pray for the best for the former prime minister.”

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Helen Regan
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Emiko Jozuka

US federal agents fired pepper ball projectiles at Venezuelan ...

CNN —

Federal agents shot pepper balls at Venezuelan migrants who were protesting along the Rio Grande River International Boundary near downtown El Paso, Texas, on Monday after an agent was injured, according to US Customs and Border Protection.

The agency issued a statement on the incident after an El Paso Times report included a 15-second video clip showing what appeared to be Border Patrol agents on the banks of the Rio Grande using projectiles to push a crowd – some of whom were holding a Venezuelan flag – back into Mexico.

Venezuelan migrants run towards Mexico after crossing into the United States as US Border Patrol agent aims his weapon during a protest against new immigration policies on October 31, 2022. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

The incident took place around 12:20 p.m. local time (1:20 p.m. ET) when CBP said “a group of Venezuelan nationals attempted to illegally enter the United States while protesting” along the river.

“One of the protesters assaulted an agent with a flag pole. A second subject threw a rock causing injury to an agent at which time agents responded by initiating crowd control measures,” the CBP statement read, adding that the crowd control measures included “the authorized less-lethal force pepperball launching system.”

“The crowd then dispersed and returned to Mexico. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional responsibility will review the incident,” the statement read.

A US Border Patrol agent stands guard at the US-Mexico border on October 31, 2022. Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters

The actions near the border come amid increasing tension at the US-Mexico border following the Biden administration’s new deal with Mexican authorities that subjects Venezuelans to the Trump-era public health authority known as Title 42, which allows officials to expel migrants into Mexico after they’re apprehended at the border.

Officials say the number of Venezuelans attempting to cross the border has spiked dramatically, nearly quadrupling in the past year. This is due, in part, to poor economic conditions, food shortages and limited access to health care in Venezuela. More than 7 million Venezuelans are now living as refugees or migrants outside their country, matching Ukraine in the number of displaced people and surpassing Syria, according to the United Nations.

In the US, some Venezuelan migrants were separated from family member despite having already lived in the US and began protesting along the border.

Nonprofits working in the El Paso area tell CNN that hundreds of Venezuelan nationals have been camping on the Mexican banks of the Rio Grande and staying in shelters in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – which is across the border from El Paso.

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement condemning the use of projectiles on migrants, calling the incident “highly alarming.”

“This is the latest in a long line of abuses carried out by CBP,” the ACLU tweeted. “Our government’s failed attempts at preventing people from seeking protection in the US lead to death and suffering. The Biden administration must restore a humane process for seeking asylum.”

The Texas Civil Rights Project also issued a statement stating the organization is “appalled and disgusted” by the footage.

“People with the incredible courage to seek a better life deserve to be met with dignity,” the group tweeted. “@CBP and @DHSgov should be advancing humanitarian solutions that meet people with dignity and respect, rather than bullets directed at their backs.”

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