Peru Congress Ousts Boluarte Amid Crime Surge

Peru's Congress voted in the early hours of Friday to remove President Dina Boluarte from office, a culmination of lawmakers' mounting frustration over a sharp rise in violent crime that boiled over after a shooting at a popular cumbia concert in the capital left several people wounded. The overnight session followed the parliamentary acceptance of multiple impeachment requests alleging Boluarte's inability to control crime; lawmakers then moved to summon the president to defend herself and, when she did not appear, voted to declare the presidency vacant.

Lawmakers approved the motions to open debate by margins that exceeded the minimum required, and in a late-night vote a large majority supported the final measure to remove Boluarte. Congress leader José Jerí was sworn in to assume the presidency on an interim basis until the scheduled general election in April 2026 or until lawmakers elect a new congressional leader to take over the executive role.

The immediate trigger for the surge in impeachment activity was a shooting on Wednesday at a concert featuring Agua Marina, one of Peru's most popular cumbia groups, in which a man opened fire and injured five people. Lawmakers and...