Paraguay President Fernando Lugo impeached by Congress The ousted president said he accepted the result. "I submit to the decision of Congress," Mr Lugo said, speaking just after he was impeached, but he added that "the history of Paraguay and its democracy have been deeply wounded." About 5,000 protesters had gathered outside Congress to support the left-wing Lugo, shouting slogans in support of the president, who was holed up just 200 meters (yards) away at his offices in the presidential palace. "We do not want the return of dictatorship," said one protester, Mariadelia, who had made the long trip to the capital from the Brazilian border to support Lugo. Hundreds of riot police formed security cordons around the building to keep them away from smaller groups of anti-Lugo protesters. "We always insist that all demonstrations be peaceful," Mr Lugo said. Underscoring the gravity of the crisis, foreign ministers from the regional grouping UNASUR were quickly dispatched to Paraguay from a UN environment summit in Rio de Janeiro. "What the ministers are trying to do is to create an environment that allows a less traumatic solution for democracy, since President Lugo has a mandate that expires in eight or nine months and cannot be re-elected," said Dilma Rousseff, president of regional powerhouse Brazil. Lawmakers announced the surprise move against the 61-year-old Lugo after clashes last week left at least six police and 11 squatters dead on a huge estate poor farmers claim was acquired by political influence decades ago. Mr Lugo sacked his interior minister and Paraguay's police chief to try to defuse the crisis, which highlighted the president's failure to redistribute land to the poor in a country where only a gilded few have all the wealth. But the president was isolated after the right-wing Colorado Party, whose six-decade grip on power he ended in 2008, joined forces in the impeachment bid with the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, part of his ruling coalition. Mr Lugo appealed the impeachment proceedings before the Supreme Court, saying they were unconstitutional and that under the law he had the right to delay the process for 18 days to give him time to prepare his defense. But the process began shortly after 1630 GMT with Lugo's five lawyers - appearing in the Senate on his behalf - having just two hours to present their defense. Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have denounced the proceedings as a "cover-up" for a coup d'etat, with Venezuelan Vice-President Elias Jaua condemning it as an imperialist attack on a "popular government." The United States said it was concerned and watching developments in Asuncion very closely. "Obviously we want to see any resolution of this matter be consistent with democracy and the Paraguayan constitution," US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington. Mr Lugo scotched resignation rumors on Thursday and portrayed the charges as a ploy to oust him by his political opponents. "I refuse to renounce my functions and vow to abide by the political process with all its consequences," he said. Mr Lugo, who was recently treated for lymphatic cancer, had already said he would not seek another term in April 2013 elections.