The Peruvian National Police has confirmed the death of one person during the blockade of a bridge in the Peruvian town of Chao, in the region of La Libertad, in the north of the country, bringing to eight the total number of deaths in the seven days of protests in the Andean state.
The dead person, a man, was hit in the head with a stone, a blow which caused his death, according to police sources detailed to the Peruvian newspaper ‘La Republica’.
«There is a person who has been killed, but it is not by police action, nor by firearm, he has already been admitted to the morgue, the necropsy has been done, the death would have been due to a blow with a blunt object, a stone has fallen on him», indicated the police authority.
The death takes place in the midst of the strong protests that are taking place all over Peru after the dismissal and arrest of former president Pedro Castillo last December 7. Protesters are calling on the country’s new president, Dina Boluarte, to dissolve Congress and call for new general elections.
The Peruvian government has decreed a 30-day national state of emergency in response to the protests in support of former president Pedro Castillo.
The Executive has also declared an emergency in the National Road Network, allowing the Army to take to the streets in an effort to protect the country’s strategic points, including airports, hydroelectric plants and other key infrastructure, such as highways.
