Political crisis in Peru: Police smashed into university entrance with armored car and arrested 200 protesters who were occupying it

The Peruvian National Police (PNP) arrested this Saturday a more than 200 people after the eviction of the campus of the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM) in Lima, where hundreds of protesters from different parts of the country have camped since Wednesday to participate in anti-government marches in the capital.

Provisional Senior Prosecutor and National Coordinator of Prosecutors for Crime Prevention, Alfonso Barnechea, announced to the media at the gates of the University that 200 people were arrested in the operation and that about twenty Prosecutors were transferred to the police stations to verify the protection of the human rights of citizens have been respected.

Around 9:30, the Peruvian National Police demolished with a tank the entrance of the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos and entered the campus to evict hundreds of protesters, who were subsequently arrested and taken to different police facilities.

“In our capacity as defenders of the rule of law, defending human rights and preventing crime, we are setting ourselves up, not only to verify the situation, but we are also deploying a series of functional actions as a prosecutor,” said Barnechea, adding that in addition to the 20 prosecutors, between six and eight coroners traveled.

These health professionals will verify on site the state and physical integrity of the detained persons.

He said the prosecutor had received complaints from the National University of San Marcos about the matter assaults and robberies of the police forces by protesters who had camped out on campus.

Meanwhile, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has expressed its concern through a message on social networks over the police raid, eviction and mass arrests at the University of San Marcos: “Urgently urges the state to account of facts and ensure the integrity and due process of all persons”.

This morning, the Peruvian National Police (PNP) knocked down the entrance to the Lima university campus with a tank and entered the facilities.

Since Wednesday, hundreds of people from Puno, Arequipa and Cuzco, among other parts of the country, have begun to arrive at this university, who have come to the Peruvian capital to participate in the large marches called for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the closure of Congress, the convening of a constituent assembly and the early elections.

After the officers entered, police officers in riot gear gathered at the campus gates to cordon off the area. The operation was supported by a police helicopter.

About an hour and a half after the start of the operation, they began to leave the university. several police buses with detaineessome of them handcuffed, in the direction of the police facilities.

with information from EFE

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