Former President Pedro Castillo arrested in the midst of the crisis in Peru

(CNN Spanish) –– Former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo is being held in Lima prefecture, a source with knowledge of the case told CNN. The same source adds that the former president’s lawyer is the former president of the Council of Ministers, Aníbal Torres.

The political crisis in Peru worsened this Wednesday when Castillo temporarily dissolved Congress, hours before a vacancy motion was voted against him. Despite the measure, Parliament held the motion of no confidence hearing and approved the vacancy.

“Defending our democracy and the Constitution, the plenary session of Congress approved, with 101 votes in favor, the vacancy against President Pedro Castillo,” says the text announcing the approval of the vacancy.

Castillo had to respond to the accusation made by the Legislature of having “permanent moral incapacity” to govern, for the third time since he took office in July 2021.

President Castillo said on Tuesday that what those who are promoting this political trial against him want is to “dynamit democracy and ignore the right to choose” of Peruvians, in addition to wanting to “take advantage and take power that the people at the polls took them away.”

It was the third attempted vacancy motion against President Pedro Castillo, and the fifth for a sitting president in the last five years.