A PERUVIAN judge ordered ousted President Pedro Castillo to remain in custody for 18 months on Thursday as nationwide protests set off by the political crisis showed no signs of abating, with the death toll rising to at least 14.

The judge’s decision came a day after the coup government declared a police state as it struggles to calm the protests that have been particularly fierce in impoverished Andean regions that were the base of support for Mr Castillo, a leftist former schoolteacher, himself of humble roots.

The ouster of the president whose surprise election last year brought immediate pushback from the political elite has drawn thousands of his loyal supporters to the streets.