Ousted President Pedro Castillo did not carry out a coup because he did not involve the country’s armed forces in his plans, Aníbal Torres, former head of Peru’s Council of Ministers, said on February 16 in an interview with RT.
Torres told the congressional subcommittee on constitutional charges that on December 7, when then-Peruvian President Castillo announced the dissolution of congress on December 7, he did not involve the country’s armed forces in this.
“If there was no coordination with the armed forces, this is certainly not a coup, because you cannot carry out a coup without using the armed forces”said the politician.
Let us remember that on December 7, 2021, a right-wing coup d’état took place in Peru, as a result of which the leftist leader Pedro Castillo was removed from office, who was arrested and imprisoned after the announcement of the dissolution of congress.
Congress, which impeached the legitimately elected president Castillo, appointed Prime Minister Dina Boluarte as president. This decision was immediately supported by the United States.
After the coup, massive protests began in different regions of Peru, during which, according to various sources, more than 60 people died. The demonstrators demand the release of Castillo, the dissolution of congress, the resignation of Boluarte and the holding of early elections.
It should be noted that the official position of the new leadership in Peru is that it was Castillo who tried to stage a coup in the country by announcing the dissolution of Congress on December 7. In his opinion, that was the reason for the mass protests, and not the overthrow of the legitimately elected president. However, this process did not go beyond Castillo’s appeal to the nation, but only gave Congress grounds to impeach the president. As a result, a coup took place in Peru, but it was not by Castillo, but by Congress, which managed to dissolve the country’s executive branch.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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