Silvia Cruz, 54, holds a white rose in memory of her son Reynaldo Ilaquita, 18, who was shot in the chest during the January 9 massacre at protests in Juliaca, Puno, Peru.
View of a rain-soaked street where Marcos Quispe, 54, lived in a rented house with his daughter and grandson. On January 9, he went out to protest with coworkers. When they were near the airport, Marcos was struck by a bullet that took his life. Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 11, 2023.
Rosa Luque, 38, cries while hugging a photo of her 18-year-old son Cristián Helliot Arisaca Luque, as her husband wipes away her tears. Helliot was returning home when, near the airport, he was struck by a projectile that killed him instantly. Juliaca, Puno, Peru. January 13, 2023.
Irma Cayo holds a photo of her husband, Manuel Quilla Ticona, who was beaten by police during a protest in Lima. He was arrested on March 14 and released days later. Despite receiving medical attention, he died on March 30 in his wife’s arms. Juliaca, Peru. December 11, 2023.
A white rose tied to a flag as a sign of mourning is held up by a citizen during the commemoration of the 18 deaths that occurred on January 9, 2023, in the city of Juliaca. Puno, Peru. February 9, 2023. Juliaca.
Funeral of 19-year-old Jhonathan Alarcón Galindo in the community of Llachoccmayo. He was shot during the December 15 protests in Ayacucho and died days later. Ayacucho, Peru. December 23, 2022.
Relatives of 19-year-old Jhonathan Alarcón Galindo bid him farewell in the community of Llachoccmayo. Jhonathan spent six days in hospital after being shot in the abdomen and hip. Ayacucho, Peru. December 23, 2022.
White roses on the table in the home of 17-year-old Yamilet Aroquipa Hancco, where she lived with her parents and siblings. On January 9, she was shot in the stomach and died shortly afterward at a health center in Juliaca, Puno, Peru. December 5, 2023.
Relatives of victims and injured gathered inside a temple after mass marking one month since the killings in Juliaca, where 18 people died and hundreds were injured during protests against the Dina Boluarte regime in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 8, 2023.
A photo of Jhon Henry Mendoza Huarancca, 30, rests on the bed in his room. Jhon worked for a transport company and was shot and killed on his way to a work meeting during the protests on December 15, 2022, in the city of Ayacucho, Peru. December 29, 2022.
Portrait of Virginia Pumayacu, 20, one of 205 people detained by police on January 21, 2023, when more than 400 officers and armored vehicles entered the University of San Marcos in Lima. There they were protesters from different regions of Peru who had come to join the protests following the deaths in Andahuaylas, Ayacucho, Juliaca, and Macusani. Lima, Peru. January 23, 2023.
A calendar hangs on a cracked wall inside the home of Marcos Quispe, 54, who was shot and killed during protests on January 9, 2023, near the Juliaca airport. Puno, Peru. February 11, 2023.
Demetrio Aroquipa, 38, holds a photo of his daughter Yamilet Aroquipa Hancco, 17, a psychology student in Bolivia. She was shot and killed while returning home with her parents. Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 10, 2023.
Broken windows in a house near Juliaca airport, where clashes between protesters and police left 18 dead and hundreds injured during the January 9, 2023 protests against the Dina Boluarte regime in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 9, 2023.
Vera Samillán embraces the photo of her brother Marco Samillán, a doctor who was killed while helping an injured person near the airport during protests in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. December 13, 2023.
Hundreds of tear gas cartridges collected by the population as evidence of police action against protesters during the January 9, 2023 protests in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 12, 2023.
An injured man shows the scar left by a bullet that came within millimeters of reaching his heart. He underwent emergency surgery to save his life. On January 9, 2023, hundreds of citizens were seriously injured during protests in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 13, 2023
Photograph of Nelson Huber Pilco Condori, 22, on coca leaves. His mother, Isabel Condori, keeps the image on a family altar alongside saints. Nelson was killed while watching protests near the airport on January 9, 2023, in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. February 14, 2023.
Isabel Condori, 59, mother of Nelson Huber Pilco Condori, 22, sits on her bed while caring for her grandson. Nelson was shot and killed near the airport during protests on January 9, 2023, against the regime of Dina Boluarte in the city of Juliaca, Puno, Peru. December 4, 2023.
Monument to Túpac Amaru in the community of Ayapata, where one of his arms was buried after his execution in 1781. Sonia Aguilar Quispe, a community leader who was killed alongside Salomón Valenzuela during the protest in memory of those who died in Juliaca, was born and buried in this town. The protest took place on January 18, 2023, in the city of Macusani. Both cases are being investigated by the prosecutor’s office as aggravated homicide. Puno, Peru. February 6, 2023
Between December 2022 and March 2023, the crackdown on protests against the government of Dina Boluarte—which erupted after the removal of Pedro Castillo, who attempted a coup—left at least 50 dead and more than 1,200 injured in Peru.
Most of the victims were rural and indigenous workers from the south; some were not even participating in the demonstrations. International organizations concluded that in many cases these were extrajudicial executions: shots aimed at the head and vital organs.
Police and military violence spread across various regions: Andahuaylas, Ayacucho, Arequipa, Junín, Cusco, Macusani, and Juliaca (Puno), where 18 people died and hundreds were injured on January 9. The government accused the protesters of being “terrorists.” In Ayacucho, one of the battalions deployed was a counterinsurgency unit from Huanta, which was ordered to confront them “as such.” The response included firing rifles, pellets, and tear gas. Autopsies and ballistics reports confirmed that the bullets and pellets extracted from the bodies matched the ammunition from assault rifles, pistols, and shotguns carried by police and military personnel.
