Protests Peru, the prosecutor investigates President Boluarte for genocide

The

of Peru has announced the launch of a preliminary investigation against President

, Prime Minister Alberto Otárola and the Ministers of Interior and Defense, Víctor Rojas and Jorge Chávez, for the hypothesis of the crime of genocide, manslaughter and serious injuries.

The prosecutor's office Patricia Benavides, writes the newspaper La Republica today, ordered the procedure after the registration of 17 deaths following clashes on Monday between the police and anti-government demonstrators in Juliaca, in the southern region of Puno.

"The investigation - specified sources of the Prosecutor's Office - concerns the

, committed not only this year but also in the demonstrations that took place starting from 7 December 2022 in the regions of Apurímac, La Libertad, Puno , Junín, Arequipa and Ayacucho", with an overall toll up until yesterday of 45 dead, including a police officer, and hundreds injured.

The preliminary investigation has finally been learned, it also involves the former prime minister, Pedro Angulo, and the former interior minister César Cervantes. 

A policeman on patrol Monday night in the Peruvian town of Juliaca, site of recent clashes between security forces and protesters demanding the release of former president Pedro Castillo, was attacked and burned alive by demonstrators as the death toll rose to at least 47 since the beginning of the protests: the international media report it.

29-year-old José Luis Soncco Quispe was on patrol with a colleague on Monday evening when their car was attacked by a mob who then set the vehicle on fire, police said.

According to Soncco's colleague, Ronald Villasante Toque, the two were "restrained and physically attacked by about 350 protesters":

Villasante was taken to a Lima hospital with multiple head injuries, while Soncco died at the scene.

Prime Minister Alberto Otárola confirmed the officer's death, saying the man "was burned alive in his patrol car".

Meanwhile, Peru's ombudsman office said 39 civilians had been killed in clashes with police and seven more in road accidents since the protests began last month, in addition to the officer killed on Monday.

At the end of a session that lasted several hours, the Peruvian Parliament approved the confidence in the Government of Prime Minister Alberto Otárola.

After the presentation of the programme, the intervention of at least six ministers in support of the government program and the comments of the representatives of all the political groups, the parliamentarians gave their confidence with 73 votes in favour, 42 against and six abstentions.

The debate took place against the backdrop of ongoing anti-government demonstrations and violent clashes between demonstrators and the forces of order in central-southern Pase which on Monday in Juliaca, in the southern region of Puno, left 18 dead and over 40 injured.

After the ousting of President Pedro Castillo and the fall of his government,