Chaos in Peru as country's president is voted out of office and taken into ... trends now
Chaos is ensuing in Peru as the country's president has been voted out of office and taken into custody hours after trying to dissolve parliament ahead of the vote.
President Pedro Castillo has been overwhelmingly voted out by a count of 101 to six with ten abstentions by the country's congress and replaced with his vice president.
The vote came just hours after Castillo attempted to dissolve congress in a move described by the national ombudsman's office as an attempted coup.
A tweet from Peruvian Police this evening appeared to show Castillo in custody, saying troops had 'intervened' using national police powers.
A picture of Castillo in police custody this evening, hours after attempting to dissolve the country's Congress
Castillo wears the presidential sash as he exits the Congress after his inauguration ceremony in Lima in July last year
Castillo had announced he was installing a new emergency government and called for the next round of lawmakers to develop a new constitution for Peru.
During a televised address, he said he would rule by decree in the meantime and ordered a nightly curfew starting tonight.
Castillo also announced he would make changes in the leadership of the judiciary, police and constitutional court.
The announcement led to the head of Peru's army resigning, along with four ministers - including those over foreign affairs and the economy.
Castillo made the move as his opponents in Congress moved toward a third attempt to remove him from office.
But lawmakers today overwhelmingly voted to remove him from office for reasons of 'permanent moral incapacity'.
The Ombudsman's Office, an autonomous government institution, then said in a statement before the congressional vote that after years of democracy, Peru is in the midst of a constitutional collapse 'that can't be called anything but a coup'.
The office called for Castillo to resign and turn himself in to judicial authorities.
It said: 'Mr. Castillo must remember that he was not only elected president of the republic, but also that the people elected representatives for public service.
'Castillo's actions ignore the will of the people and are invalid.'
Castillo arrives to a symbolic swearing-in ceremony at the site of the 1824 Battle of Ayacucho in July last year
Police officers stand guard around the Peruvian Congress in Lima, Peru, amid the chaos in the country
The congressional vote called
