The president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, denounced on Wednesday that the indigenous group Ponchos Rojos (Red Ponchos), a group linked to former Bolivian president Evo Morales, is involved in the entry of arms and ammunition across the border between the two countries.
Boluarte has asked the Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office to investigate «quickly and objectively» the involvement of the Ponchos Rojos, since apparently these would have been the weapons used in the clashes that took place on January 9 in Juliaca and Puno, which resulted in the death of 18 people, reported the newspaper ‘El Deber’.
This comes after the Peruvian government sent on Monday a diplomatic note of protest to Bolivia for the statements of the Bolivian president, Luis Arce, in which he expressed his support to the wave of protests that shakes the country.
The Bolivian president affirmed, during an act of his party, the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS), that the Peruvian people are now «in a struggle» to «recover their democracy and also to «recover the right to elect a government that represents them».
In response, the Bolivian diplomacy reiterated its respect for International Law and the principle of non-intervention, rejecting the insinuation of the Peruvian authorities, who pointed out that Arce’s words were «an unacceptable interference in matters that only belong to Peruvians».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)