Protester killed in Peru's capital, rising crisis toll to 58

A protester has been killed in Lima during brutal clashes between police and demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte.

It was the first such death in Peru’s capital. Víctor Santisteban Yacsavilca, 55, suffered a severe head injury during clashes with law enforcement in downtown Lima on Saturday, Peru’s ombudsman said.

A total of 58 people, including one police officer, have now died amid the unrest across Peru that began after then-President Pedro Castillo was impeached and later arrested for trying to dissolve Congress on Dec. 7. Boluarte, who was then vice president, took over.

Protesters descended on Peru’s capital earlier this month to expand demonstrations that had earlier largely been focused in the country’s south and exposed deep divisions between residents of the capital and the long-neglected countryside.