President Pedro Castillo of Peru has been impeached and ousted from office by the country’s Congress after he tried to temporarily shut down the government’s legislative branch and call for new elections.
The Latin American country had been in political turmoil since 2021 when lawmakers tried to impeach him twice after he came into office in July 2021.
Lawmakers began the impeachment trial on Wednesday, December 7, ignoring former president Castillo’s decree to suspend the body, after which they had voted overwhelmingly (101-6) to oust him.
The Congress had thereafter sworn in Vice President Dina Boluarte to replace Castillo, making her Peru’s first female president.
Footage posted on social media saw Castillo in law enforcement custody, unrestrained at a Lima police station, though authorities have yet to clarify whether he’s being detained.
Meanwhile, the new president has called for a political truce while she forms a new cabinet with several representations from various parties.
