"I want to know where my brother is," said Domitila Quispe, one of many people clustered outside the National Police Directorate Against Terrorism (Dircote) headquarters.

A day earlier, an armored police vehicle rammed through a metal gate to the University of San Marcos, where numerous protesters had set up a temporary camp.

Police rushed through throngs of protesters in their raid of the camp, then left with 193 detainees.

"I have not slept," Quispe said, worried about the fate of her brother. "He sent me a message through WhatsApp to say he was arrested."

47-year-old Quispe and her 40-year-old brother, Silverio, came to Lima from the Andean region of Huancavelica to take part in mass protests demanding the removal of President Dina Boluarte.

She has been in power since December 2022, when her predecessor, Pedro Castillo, was ousted from office and arrested for attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

Protests have been ongoing since Castillo's ouster, leaving 46 people dead and prompting the government to impose a state of emergency in violence-hit areas.

Carrying bowls of chicken soup, bread, containers of water, and toiletries, some 30 family members of the detained came to the Dircote headquarters, asking for permission to deliver the food and hygiene materials to their loved ones.

© Agence France-Presse