Peruvian President Pedro Castillo was arrested on Wednesday after ordering the dissolution of parliament. The determination is the prerogative of the Chief Executive but is seen by the opposition and the Peruvian press as an attempt at a coup d’état.
According to the newspaper La Republica, Castillo left the Government Palace, in Lima, and, detained by agents on his escort, was taken by police to a police station in the Peruvian capital.
El Comercio newspaper reports that the president, first lady Lilia Paredes and other family members were seen gathering belongings and suitcases before the arrest — an indication that he intended to leave the capital.
“Pedro Castillo decided to carry out a coup. No more, no less. Consequently, he became a dictator and thus he must go down in history, in whose pages of infamy he now shares a place with all the bandits who in the past tried to subvert the constitutional order in our country,” says an editorial in El Comercio published this Wednesday afternoon.
Peru’s Congress ignored Castillo’s order to dissolve Parliament and approved the populist politician’s vacancy motion – the third filed against the president, who has experienced a crisis with Parliament since he took office.
The president of the House summoned the deputy, Dina Boluarte, to take over the government this Wednesday afternoon. The vacancy motion, a kind of impeachment, was approved with 101 votes in favor, 6 against and 10 abstentions. 87 votes were needed for approval. Boluarte itself referred to Castillo’s action as a “coup d’état that aggravates the political and institutional crisis”.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
