Mass Protests Against President Castillo Held Across Peru - Reports

MEXICO CITY (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th November, 2022) Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Peru, demanding that President Pedro Castillo resign, local media report.

The protests were held on Saturday in the capital Lima, as well as the regions of Piura, Trujillo, Chiclayo, Cusco and Huancayo, the RPP (Radio Programas del Peru) broadcaster said.

Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, however, in Lima, police used tear gas against the protesters and one of the demonstrators was injured by a gas grenade, according to RPP.

President Pedro Castillo faces corruption allegations. In July, the prosecutor general's office announced that it was investigating Castillo, after accusations were made by former minister of the interior Mariano Gonzalez, who alleged that Castillo had covered for people from his immediate entourage, against whom criminal cases had been initiated.

In early August, Peruvian prosecutors raided the government palace in the capital city of Lima, as well as the home of the country's president in Chota, northern Peru, looking for Yenifer Paredes, the sister of the country's First Lady Lilia Paredes Navarro, who, like the head of state, is suspected of corruption. At the end of August, Yenifer got 30 months of preventive detention.

Castillo has denied all accusations made against him and his family members.