Peru’s defense minister says ‘separatist’ foreigners spurring protest violence

Peru’s Defense Minister Jorge Chavez on Thursday accused foreigners of stirring up protests with a view to encouraging separatism in the country’s south, as tensions simmer after former President Pedro Castillo was ousted last month.
“They have entered not only with the intention of stirring up violence, but also to integrate this separatist idea of a part of our region in the country,” Chavez told a press conference.
Chavez did not specify the nationalities of those who entered the country, but in an interview with local TV on Wednesday he said he had reported the presence of five Bolivians at a protest in the border region of Puno.
He said the government was working on legal actions against those who allegedly crossed the border clandestinely.