Peru calls for “national truce,” police tank crashes through university gates amid protests

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte called for “a national truce” with the aim “to establish dialogue tables” as she met with foreign media in Lima on Tuesday.
The meeting was intended to appease the protestors demanding her resignation. Protests have claimed 46 lives in the five weeks since the removal of former-President Pedro Castillo. Riot police used tear gas to disperse anti-government protesters amid the unrest, as reported by Peruvian media.
Attacks against 13 police stations were reported in a joint statement published by the Ministry of Interior. This statement claimed that “violent extremists not only put the lives of the police officers at risk, but also caused serious damage to this infrastructure of the Peruvian State.”
After footage of a tank breaking into San Macros University in Lima garnered media attention, the country’s Interior Minister Vicente Romero claimed that the “multipurpose vehicle” was not used to force open the door but rather to “protect” those inside.
He stated that the Ministry did not order said intervention and that the police had acted after the university sent out a complaint.