LIMA — At least one person was killed and dozens of police officers injured in widespread protests overnight in Peru against President Jose Jeri, who assumed power just days ago, the state ombudsman’s office said on Thursday.

The protest on Wednesday night, called by young Gen Z protesters, transport workers and civil groups, was the latest in a series of demonstrations against corruption and rising crime, which led to the dramatic midnight ouster of former President Dina Boluarte last Thursday.

Thousands of protesters amassed around the country, with hundreds clashing with police outside Congress in Lima. Police fired tear gas while some protesters hurled fireworks, rocks and burning objects.

“Everyone must go!” protesters chanted when they reached Congress and tried to tear down metal barriers protecting the building, leading to clashes.

A 32-year-old man, Eduardo Mauricio Ruiz, was killed during the protest and his death will be investigated, said Fernando Losada, a representative from the country’s Ombudsman’s office.

Peru’s prosecutor’s office said Ruiz died after being shot.

Later on Thursday, the head of Peru’s national police (PNP), Oscar Arriola told reporters that Luis Magallanes, a member of the PNP, had been physically assaulted and carried out the shooting. Arriola added that the Magallanes was being treated at the hospital and had been removed from his duties.

Jeri expressed regret over the death in a post on X, saying the death would be “objectively” investigated. He blamed violence on “delinquents who infiltrated a peaceful demonstration to sow chaos.”

“The full force of the law will be on them,” he wrote.

After attending a meeting about the protests at Congress Thursday afternoon, Jeri told reporters he would ask Congress for “authority to legislate on public safety issues.”

Jeri said one focus would be prison reform, but did not elaborate on what those powers would entail.

Speaking to Congress soon after, newly appointed Interior Minister Vicente Tiburcio, said the government would push for comprehensive reform to the national police, adding that 89 police and 22 civilians had been injured during the protest and 11 people were detained.

The interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the police reform or Jeri’s request for expanded legislative powers.

Wednesday’s protests were a bellwether for how Jeri’s short-lived presidency, which ends next July due to scheduled elections, could play out.

Jeri, 38, has promised to make crime his top priority, but has faced a number of scandals himself, including corruption allegations and a now-shelved investigation for sexual assault. Jeri has denied wrongdoing in both cases and expressed willingness to cooperate with any corruption investigation.

Boluarte faced widespread protests after she assumed power in late 2022, leading to dozens of deaths and a plunge in her popularity levels, which oscillated between 2% and 4% in the days leading up to her ouster.

Congress – which was headed by Jeri before he became president – is almost equally unpopular with a single-digit approval rating.— Reuters

UNITED NATIONS — Venezuela has asked the United Nations Security Council to determine that deadly US strikes on vessels off its coast are illegal and issue a statement backing Venezuela’s sovereignty, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday.

US President Donald Trump has ordered a large US military buildup in the southern Caribbean, and the troops have conducted at least five strikes on vessels the Trump administration has described as involved in drug trafficking, without providing evidence.

In a letter to the 15-member Security Council, dated Wednesday, Venezuela’s UN Ambassador Samuel Moncada accused Washington of killing at least 27 people in the strikes on “civilian vessels transiting international waters.”

He asked the council to “investigate” the strikes to “determine their illegal nature” and issue a statement “reaffirming the principle of unrestricted respect for the sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity of states,” including Venezuela.

In Caracas, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said that while the CIA has long been linked to coups around the world, no previous government had publicly stated it ordered the CIA to “kill, overthrow, and destroy countries.”

Maduro accused the CIA of being authorized to conduct operations aimed against the peace of Venezuela.

“But our people are clear, united, and aware. They have the means to once again defeat this open conspiracy against the peace and stability of Venezuela,” the president said during an event broadcast on state television.

US HOLDS VETO POWER
However, the Security Council will be unable to take any action beyond holding meetings on the situation because the United States holds veto power. The council met for the first time last week over the tensions at the request of Venezuela, Russia, and China.

At that meeting, the United States justified its actions as consistent with Article 51 of the founding UN Charter, which requires the Security Council to be immediately informed of any action states take in self-defense against armed attack.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on Thursday Trump would use the intelligence community, the defense department, and diplomacy “to defend US sovereignty against actions that are actively killing Americans.”

“Venezuela can bring whatever they want to the UN. You know what’s also part of the UN is Article 51 of the UN Charter that enables a country to defend itself. And that’s what President Trump’s doing and is going to do,” he told Fox News.— Reuters