Dozens of violent rioters on Saturday pelted the Venezuelan Embassy in Peru with stones and other heavy objects to protest against the killing of a Peruvian in Colombia by Venezuelan criminals, Prensa Latina reports.
Protesters chanted xenophobic slogans against the Venezuelan Embassy, broke windows and set consular guidance sings stuck on the fence on fire, which they threatened to climb. The attack caused damages to the facility’s facade, and fortunately, any Venezuelan diplomats were injured.
The Embassy’s premises were guarded by three police officers only, and even though the protesters came from downtown directly to the Embassy, the police reinforcements showed up when the attack had already finished and only then they took control of the situation.
Before moving to the Venezuelan Embassy, the protesters tried to reach the Parliament, but were kept at bay one block away and there they shouted aloud for President Francisco Sagasti to close the borders to Venezuelans.
When the attack was over, marchers went to local TV stations in search of publicity for their actions, and went back to the Embassy, where the police protected the Venezuelan Embassy.
At the beginning of the attack, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza demanded on Twitter that Peruvian authorities comply with the Vienna Convention and shield the Venezuelan diplomatic and consular mission in Lima.
Arreaza on Sunday condemned the attack by dozens of protesters against his country’s embassy in Peru.
“We demand Peru’s authorities comply with the Vienna Convention and protect our diplomatic and consular mission in Lima. We demand respect for Venezuelan migrants in Peru, just as we do with the hundreds of thousands of Peruvians living in Venezuela,” Arreaza stated on his official Twitter account on Feb. 21.
The attackers stated that they were protesting the murder of a Peruvian resident in Colombia by alleged Venezuelan criminals.
Although the protesters had declared their intention to march on the embassy and had previously attempted to reach Peru’s government offices, only three local police officers secured the Venezuelan diplomatic mission. Police backups that brought the situation under control arrived just after the attack was carried out.
It is not the first event of this kind suffered by the Venezuelan diplomatic staff in Lima, since in January 2019, a similar event occurred after the former Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra (2018-2020) did not recognize Nicolas Maduro’s victory on May 20, 2018, presidential elections.