Castillo: ‘New form of coup has begun in Peru’

Lima, Oct 11 (EFE).- Peru’s President Pedro Castillo declared Tuesday that “a new type of coup d’état has begun” after the Prosecutor’s Office presented a constitutional complaint in against him in Congress and ordered raids on the homes of several parliamentarians and his sister for an alleged case of corruption.

“Today, in the morning hours, the execution of a new type of coup has begun in Peru,” Castillo said at a conference with the foreign press.

The president gave the statement hours after the Public Ministry announced that Attorney General Patricia Benavides filed a constitutional complaint against Castillo in Congress over what she said was “serious indications of a criminal organization that has taken roots in the government” and other accusations.

The ruler “flatly” denied them and rejected and condemned the work of the Prosecutor’s Office, which he accused of acting “politically” after it ordered raids on six lawmakers and his sister.

“Never has it been seen in the history of the country that the homes of officials, congressmen and former government workers are raided simultaneously, being convinced by false information (…) that we are tarnished,” he said.

Castillo added that “they want to legitimize a criminal network and they don’t care about the dignity of people, they don’t care about respect for families,” but he insisted that, despite “the political persecution,” his government will stand “tall and firm.”

“They are not going to intimidate us. We are here stronger than ever, not only to consolidate democracy in Peru, but also to consolidate our solidarity with other communities, with other countries, because a government that is born from the people, we owe it to them and we have to keep working,” he said.

On the other hand, the president described as “outrageous” that they detain “innocent” people and that, on the other hand, “they do not have the courage to do it with drug traffickers, with people who have committed crimes.”

Castillo concluded his speech by reiterating his “commitment and loyalty” to continue working for the Peruvian people and was confident that he would reach the end of his mandate, in 2026.

He also assured that he will not leave his country or request asylum.

“These accusations that are being made are orchestrated, they are planned and we are going to continue fighting,” he said.

Since assuming power in July 2021, the head of state has accumulated six preliminary investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office against him, five of them in the hands of Benavides. EFE

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