A subcommittee of the Peruvian Congress approved on Friday a report to accuse and prosecute in a preliminary trial leftist President Pedro Castillo for the alleged crime of treason considering that his country could grant an outlet to the sea to Bolivia.
“The final report of constitutional complaint 219 was approved by 11 votes in favor, 10 against and 0 abstentions,” said the president of the Subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations, Lady Camones.
The decision opens the door for the start of a pretrial process against Castillo, but it must still be debated by the full Congress to formally accuse the president. No date has yet been set for the vote.
The final report approved this Friday proposes that Castillo be imposed “the sanction of disqualification for five years for the exercise of public function.”
“We (the proposal) are not intimidated, we are for the country because first of all there is the citizen and I hope that the Congress of the Republic acts looking at the Peruvian people,” the Peruvian president reacted.
This decision is framed in the context of the acute political crisis in Peru due to recurring clashes between executive and legislative powers, for which an OAS commission will arrive in Lima on November 20 to build bridges of dialogue between both blocs.
The report is based on an interview that Castillo gave in January to CNN en Español, in which he did not rule out facilitating access to the sea in Bolivia if the population decided through a popular consultation.
After the War of the Pacific (1879-1884), which pitted Peru and Bolivia against Chile, Peru lost its two southernmost regions (Arica and Tarapacá) and Bolivia its exit to the sea.
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