This week, the United States will send troops to Peru for training, just days after Amnesty International condemned the Peruvian police force.
After former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo’s ouster, demonstrations broke out in the country. Last Thursday, Amnesty International accused Peruvian police of crimes under international law and grave human rights violations in their response.
The report’s authors concluded that the evidence shows that superiors in the chain of command may have ordered, allowed, or encouraged the severe violation of human rights that occurred.
According to reports, Peru’s legislature approved a measure authorizing U.S. forces into the nation from June 1 until December 31.
Hundreds of Marines and special forces from SOUTHCOM, the Pentagon’s regional command for the Caribbean and Latin America, are scheduled to arrive in Peru this week to begin training the Peruvian National Police special forces units and its military. These soldiers have resorted to massacres and extrajudicial killings to quell the widespread demonstrations against the Dina Boluarte administration.
The Fuerza Popular party and its allies control both houses of Peru’s Congress, and earlier this month, they voted to authorize the US deployment by a majority of two to one. Congress has joined forces with the Boluarte government and the courts to quell unrest among Peru’s working class and oppressed masses to create a more authoritarian state.
Nearly seventy people have been officially confirmed dead as a result of the suppression of the massive uprisings that began last December in reaction to the removal and detention of President Pedro Castillo. Additionally, hundreds of people have been severely injured.
Despite being largely ignored by Peruvian and American media, the deployment of US forces to Peru is an unequivocal statement of support for this murderous repression from the Biden administration and the Pentagon.
