Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia show support for Pedro Castillo

The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Bolivia on Monday expressed their support for the former president of Peru, Pedro Castilloat a time when there are important demonstrations against her dismissal and arrest, as well as the appointment of Dina Boluarte as president.

“President Castillo Terrones, from the day of his election, was the victim of undemocratic harassment, in violation (…) of the American Convention on Human Rights,” reads a statement signed by the four countries and released this Monday by the Foreign Ministry from Colombia.

The former Peruvian president, elected in 2021, was arrested last week by court order and faces charges of rebellion and conspiracy, after a failed attempt to dissolve the legislature.

We urge those who make up the institutions to refrain from reversing the popular will expressed with free suffrage,” read the joint statement.

Castillo, a rural teacher far from the Peruvian elites, ruled for less than a year and a half in a period marked by a deep political crisis.

At the time of the arrest, he was going to the Mexican embassy to request asylum. Congress, dominated by the right, approved a regulation that allows speeding up a criminal trial against him.

The former president is “the object of judicial treatment (…) in violation” of the American Convention on Human Rights, added the countries that subscribed to the message.

Vice President Dina Boluarte denounced Castillo for attempting to carry out a “coup” and replaced him in power. She now faces massive protests from agrarian unions and peasant and indigenous organizations, sectors related to Castillo that demand his resignation.

A plan by the new government to advance the elections from 2026 to 2024 has not weakened the demonstrations, which have left four civilians dead in the last 36 hours.

The demonstrators demand the “immediate freedom” of Castillo, as well as the closure of the congress.

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