Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo went on trial charged with rebellion, grave abuse of authority, and perturbing public tranquility in a case that has polarized the South American nation.
The charges stem from a failed effort by Castillo to declare a state of emergency and dissolve Peru’s Congress as legislators prepared an impeachment vote against him in December 2022.
Castillo failed to get the military’s support for his move, and was swiftly deposed by Congress and arrested after prosecutors accused him of trying to promote a coup. But the removal of Castillo, Peru’s first Indigenous president, sparked large protests in the south of the country, in which at least 49 people were killed in the weeks following the president’s ouster.
Castillo was replaced by then-Vice President Dina Boluarte, who now leads a conservative government and has built alliances with legislators from the nation’s traditional parties. The former president’s trial is taking place in a police base, where he has been held since he made his unsuccessful attempt to dissolve Congress and call for new elections.
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