A policeman was burned alive inside a patrol car during anti-government protests in Peru

Prime Minister of PeruAlberto Otárola, confirmed this Tuesday that a National Police (PNP) non-commissioned officer died after being “burned alive” by a mob who attacked him in the city of Juliaca, where 17 more people died in anti-government demonstrations on Monday. For the 46 deaths recorded so far, Peruvian prosecutor’s office to investigate President Dina Boluarte for “genocide, qualified homicide and grievous bodily harm”.

“The Police are at the scene of the events and confirm that one policeman was beaten and handcuffed and the other, the young second class José Luis Soncco Quispe, is dead, he was burned alive in his patrol car“, assured Otárola during his presentation to Congress, reports the EFE agency.

The premier, who went to the chamber to ask for parliamentary confirmation of his inauguration, reported that the demonstrators stopped a police patrol in a street of that city around midnight on Tuesday.

“Near the San Martín school, in the Colmena urbanization in Juliaca, a group of demonstrators stopped the mobile unit of the PNP emergency unit, made up of a crew of two non-commissioned officers, who were attacked at close range by the protesters.”, he stressed.

After indicating that he “deplores” this attack, he called for “order, peace and tranquility for all Peruvians” and announced that this Wednesday was declared a day of “national mourning”.

Otárola also assured that the executive authorities will give “all facilities” to the prosecutor’s office to investigate the deaths in the demonstrations.

Earlier, the head of the PNP’s operational command, Jorge Luis Angulo, told Channel N that the agent was in a vehicle when he was “kidnapped and later murdered” and his body was “completely burned”.

Angulo said there are four PNP agents in critical condition from other clashes with protesters and regretted “the high levels of violence” in the Puno region, as well as the 17 deaths caused by Monday’s violent day .

Senior prosecutor Jorge Chávez Cotrina, who is coordinator of the specialized prosecutorial offices against organized crime, also spoke of the non-commissioned officer’s death, and stated that the policeman was attacked “by a crowd who set fire to the patrol car and was trapped in the inside and died charred”.

At least 17 protesters also died this Monday in the city of Puno during protests around the airport, as well as a child who was due to be transferred to a medical center and was unable to arrive due to the blockades, which brought the death toll to 46 since last December 11 across the country.

Protesters are calling for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the closure of the Congress, the convening of a constituent assembly and the bringing forward of the general elections to 2023.

In this sense, Otárola announced this Tuesday that the government has approved the declaration of a three-day night curfew in Puno “to safeguard the life, integrity and freedom of all citizens” of that region.

Peruvian prosecutors will investigate Boluarte for genocide

The Peruvian prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday it would investigate President Dina Boluarte for alleged crimes of “genocide, qualified murder and grievous bodily harm” during protests against her, which left at least 46 dead in one month.

“The Attorney of the Nation has ordered the opening of a preliminary investigation against President Dina Boluarte; the President of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otárola; the Minister of the Interior, Víctor Rojas; the Minister of Defense, Jorge Chávez,” said the ‘prosecutor’s office on Twitter.

The investigation is for alleged crimes of “genocide, qualified homicide and grievous bodily harm” during anti-government demonstrations in the regions of Apurímac, La Libertad, Puno, Junín, Arequipa and Ayacucho.

The investigation also concerns the former head of cabinet Pedro Ángulo, and the former interior minister, César Cervantes, who served in the Boluarte government between 7 and 21 December 2022. In that period there were 22 deaths due to the crackdown on law enforcement by the police and military.

The protests are concentrated in the Andean areas of Peru, where the population is demanding the resignation of Boluarte and immediate presidential and legislative elections.

The deadliest day of the protests came on Monday, when 17 people died in Juliaca, in the Puno region on the Bolivian border, AFP reported.

The epicenter of the protests is precisely the Aymara region of Puno, where, according to the government, there has been a “revolt” of radical leftist organizations who have tried to storm the Juliaca airport.

Boluarte served as vice president until December 7, when Congress removed Pedro Castillo after he attempted to shut down parliament, intervene in the judicial system and rule by decree.

Castillo, under investigation for corruption, is serving 18 months in custody ordered by a judge on rebellion charges.

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