Former President Pedro Castillo is accused of “rebellion” in a Peruvian court

The ousted former president of Peru was facing a judicial hearing on Thursday for his arrest and an investigation for rebellion, while his replacement held meetings at the presidential palace after a dramatic day that shocked the region.

Congressional lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to remove Pedro Castillo from office on Wednesday, prompting the swift downfall of the unpopular president after his attempt to dissolve Congress and rule by decree was thwarted earlier that day.

Castillo was arrested on Wednesday accused of “rebellion and conspiracy,” according to the prosecutor’s office, which adds to other corruption investigations.

The preliminary hearing on Thursday is expected to assess the legality of his detention and to address an investigation by the Attorney General’s Office into accusations that he orchestrated an alleged rebellion.

Castillo’s lawyer, Víctor Pérez, rejected the accusation of rebellion at the hearing, arguing that such an act involves the use of weapons and violence, which he said never occurred.

The former president attended the hearing by teleconference and was asked if he wanted to address the court, but he did not want to.

oath

As a climax to the dizzying sequence of events, Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s vice president, was sworn in as the new president of the South American country, becoming the first woman to govern the South American country.

The 17-month term of the leftist Castillo, 53, was marked by an unprecedented turnover of top officials, as well as multiple corruption scandals that he dismissed as politically motivated efforts by conservative enemies in the opposition-controlled Congress, to undermine his government.

Castillo is being held in a police prison in the capital Lima, where another former president, Alberto Fujimori, is also being held, a judicial source told Reuters early on Thursday.

Boluarte, 60, could appoint a new cabinet in the coming days to lead the world’s second-largest copper producer, with high expectations that he will opt for a unity government.

In brief remarks on Thursday, Boluarte suggested calling early elections could be “democratically respectable” but added that he wants more talks first.