During Peru’s anti-government protests, a police officer was burned to death

In Juliaca, a city close to the Bolivian border and Lake Titicaca, José Luis Soncco Quispe, 29, was on patrol with a colleague officer on Monday night when they were attacked by a mob that later set fire to their car, according to police reports.

As the death toll from protests following the removal of former President Pedro Castillo climbed to 47, protestors attacked and burned to death a police officer on patrol in Puno, Peru, according to authorities.

According to the reports, the men were “detained and physically attacked by over 350 protesters,” according to Ronald Villasante Toque, Soncco’s partner in the police car.

Villasante was attacked and then transported to a hospital in Lima with multiple head wounds. He said he was ignorant of his partner’s situation.

In a meeting of Congress, Prime Minister Alberto Otárola announced the passing of Soncco and said that protesters had attacked the men.

“Police arrived at the scene and found that one officer had been beaten and tied up, and the other, Luis Soncco Quispe, unfortunately had died,” he said. “He was burned alive in his patrol car.”

Otárola declared a three-day curfew in Puno between the hours of 8 p.m. and 4 a.m., as well as a day of mourning for the victims on Wednesday.

The Ombudsman’s Office of Peru said that 39 civilians had died in police-citizen clashes since the protests got underway in early December following Castillo’s removal, and an additional seven had died in car accidents, in addition to the fallen police officer.

After 17 people were killed on Monday in Juliaca during protests calling for immediate elections, neglected rural sections of the nation that are still supportive of Castillo witnessed the death of the police officer.

Castillo’s expulsion and detention following a widely denounced attempt to dissolve Congress and avert his own impeachment marked the beginning of the turmoil.

Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s replacement and his former campaign companion, has backed a proposal to move forward the 2026 presidential and congressional elections to 2024. She has also stated her support for judicial inquiries into the use of disproportionate force by security personnel.

Although there was a brief reprieve around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, the unrest has now resurfaced with a vengeance in some of Peru’s poorest regions, where Castillo’s unconventional administration had previously enjoyed the strongest support.