Peru’s president rejects ‘despicable’ prosecutor charge

Peru's embattled president rejected a formal complaint against her filed earlier on Monday by the attorney general, deriding it as "despicable" in brief public remarks, in the latest recriminations over deadly social unrest a year ago. President Dina Boluarte, who took office last December following the controversial ouster and jailing of her predecessor, described the constitutional complaint issued by Attorney General Patricia Benavides as "causing astonishment"."We express our condemnation for such a despicable political manoeuvre that improperly uses the memory of deceased patriots to distract attention from a very serious complaint against the prosecutor herself," said Boluarte, referring to corruption accusations levelled against Benavides. The ouster of former President Pedro Castillo plunged the Andean country into weeks of angry and sometimes violent protests that claimed at least 40 lives. Hundreds more suffered injuries. Boluarte previously served as vice president to Castillo, who had unlawfully sought to dissolve Congress ahead of a planned vote by lawmakers to remove him. Earlier on Monday, Benavides announced the complaint following a nearly year-long inquiry in a televised speech. She also rejected the investigations against her, which she said sought to "destabilise the independence of powers" in the South American country's volatile politics.