Peru’s President Impeached, Arrested After Attempt to Dissolve Congress

To retain power ahead of an impeachment vote, Peruvian President Pedro Castillo Terrones yesterday attempted to dissolve Congress (WaPo) and rule by decree. Lawmakers immediately voted to impeach him. By day’s end, Vice President Dina Boluarte had been sworn in as Peru’s sixth president in six years and Castillo had been arrested (Reuters) for breaking constitutional order.

Castillo won last year’s presidential election (AP) by a thin margin and immediately struggled to govern, facing corruption accusations and churning through cabinet members. This was the third impeachment attempt against him. Boluarte denounced Castillo’s actions as an “attempted coup” and pledged to form a unity government. Castillo’s ouster makes Boluarte Peru’s first female president, and she will remain in office until 2026.

Analysis

“He was an inexperienced, unpopular, inept, politically-isolated president and those are conditions under which coups are guaranteed to fail,” Harvard University’s Steven Levitsky tells Time.

“Peru’s constitution is notoriously volatile, allowing Congress to easily fire presidents and for the president to easily fire lawmakers. Firing Castillo and installing his VP as president will not in itself fix that underlying instability,” Reuters’s Marcelo Rochabrún tweets.

Pacific Rim

Vietnam Hosts Its First International Arms Expo

Vietnam aims to move away (Nikkei) from dependence on Russia, which has been the source of over 70 percent of its imported weapons.

Hong Kong: The city reduced its isolation period (SCMP) for residents and incoming travelers with COVID-19 from seven days to five.

South and Central Asia

Taliban Carry Out First Public Execution Since Returning to Power

The execution of an alleged murderer came a few weeks after the Taliban government ordered judges (CNN) to fully implement the group’s interpretation of sharia-based law.

U.S./Myanmar: The United States is downgrading diplomatic relations with Myanmar and will not send a new ambassador to the country after the current one departs this month, Nikkei reported.

Middle East and North Africa

Iran Executes First Person Jailed in Relation to Ongoing Protests

An Iranian news agency said the man had blocked a street (AP) and attacked a security force member during the anti-government protests.

Pakistan/Saudi Arabia: Pakistan requested $3 billion in cash from Saudi Arabia, Pakistani officials told the Express Tribune. At a news conference, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister said (Bloomberg) the country will “continue to support Pakistan as much as we can.”

Sub-Saharan Africa

Reuters: Nigerian Military Ran Secret Abortion Program

A Reuters report said the military program illegally, and often forcibly, terminated the pregnancies of at least ten thousand women and girls who had been impregnated by Boko Haram fighters since 2013. The military denied the claims.

Ethiopia: Electricity and telecommunications services have returned (AP) to parts of the country’s Tigray region since the government and rebel Tigrayan forces signed a cease-fire deal over a month ago, state media and a local hospital said.

For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR’s Michelle Gavin unpacks the cease-fire agreement.

Europe

U.S. Basketball Star Brittney Griner Freed From Russia in Prisoner Swap

U.S. President Joe Biden said Griner is on her way home (CBS News) after having been jailed in Russia in February on drug charges. U.S. officials said she was freed in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Russia: Speaking to his human rights council, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country would not deploy nuclear weapons first (The Guardian) in any conflict and that the war in Ukraine could become a “long-term process.”

CFR’s J. Andrés Gannon lays out three scenarios for Russia’s potential use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Americas

Guatemalan Court Convicts Former President of Fraud, Conspiracy

Former Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina and his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, were each sentenced to sixteen years in prison (Reuters). Pérez had been detained awaiting his sentence for seven years.

United States

White House Unveils Website to Track Opioid Overdoses

The site will be updated every two weeks (NPR) with information about non-fatal opioid overdoses in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

This Backgrounder looks at the U.S. opioid epidemic.

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