The governments of Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia and Argentina issued a joint communiqué in which they advocated the deposed former president of Peru, Pedro Castillo.
In the document, published on Monday afternoon, they stated: “It is not news to the world that President Castillo Terrones, from the day of his election, was the victim of undemocratic harassment, in violation of article 23 of the American Convention on Human Rights, ‘Costa Rica Pact’, approved on November 22, 1969, to later be subject to judicial treatment in the same manner, in violation of article 25 of the aforementioned convention”.
“Our governments call on all the actors involved in the previous process to prioritize the will of the citizens that was pronounced at the polls. It is the way of interpreting the scope and meanings of the notion of democracy contained in the Inter-American System of Human Rights. We urge those who make up the institutions to refrain from reversing the popular will expressed with free suffrage,” they add in the letter.
Finally, the governments of the three countries asked the authorities involved to “fully respect the human rights of President Pedro Castillo and to guarantee him judicial protection in the terms enshrined in the last cited article.”
Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia and Argentina have left-wing governments in common, just like Peru. In our country, the head of state, Gustavo Petro, has been a staunch defender of Castilloand in several trills he has tried to justify his situation.
Last week, Castillo was impeached by Congress and later captured by the Police, after a failed attempt to shut down the legislative branch.