Ousted Peru leader appears in court to face rebellion charge

LIMA — Peru's stunning political crisis ground forward Thursday, as former President Pedro Castillo appeared in court following a failed attempt to close a hostile congress and his successor looked for ways to unite the country behind institutions already hollowed out by endemic corruption and mistrust.

At his initial court appearance, Castillo looked downcast as he gave simple yes or no answers and his attorney argued that he had been arbitrarily detained and ousted from Peru's presidency on trumped-up charges of rebellion.

The U.S. condemned Castillo's power grab as illegal and even leftist allies in the region have refused to come to his rescue.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday called Castillo's removal a “soft coup” fueled by deep-seated racism against the former school teacher from the heavily indigenous Andean highlands. López Obrador said that he had greenlit Castillo's request for asylum that he made in a phone call to the Mexican president's office. But he said those plans were frustrated when Castillo was intercepted by police on his way to the Mexican Embassy in Lima, where a group of protesters awaited.

“It is no longer military intervention,” said López Obrador. “It's done with control of the media by the oligarchs, undermining legal and legitimately constituted authorities, especially if they want to do something for the benefit of the long-suffering people who do not belong to the elites.”