The body of the police officer killed on Saturday during a confrontation between police and indigenous workers who took over operations of the Argentine Pluspetrol oil company in Peru’s north-eastern Loreto Department was flown to the port city of Callao today.
Officer Jaime Reyna Ruiz’s body was received by Interior Minister Luis Alva Castro, who was accompanied by Vice Interior Minister Danilo Guevara and the director general of the National Police, Octavio Salazar, in Callao’s Aerial Police Office daily La República reported.
Reyna was killed and 11 officers injured when protesters fired on the police patrol trying to secure the oil company’s airstrip on Saturday, reportedly held by workers since they began protests demanding higher salaries two days earlier.
The national chief of police information, Col. Perez Varas, told The Associated Press the site was secured and protests had ceased Sunday.
The head of the Unit for Social Conflicts in the Peruvian Cabinet, Juan Manuel Figueoroa, added that members of different indigenous communities replaced their leaders with plans to resume negotiations with government and company representatives, daily El Comercio reported.
