Environmental health officials plan Marañón water tests

Peru’s environmental health office Digesa will take water tests at the Marañón river with the Loreto’s regional health office Diresa to test for contamination from an oil spill caused last June, state news agency Andina reported. The agencies are scheduled to take the samples on Nov. 15 and transport them to experts who will determine [...]

Peru government and transportation strikers meet for talks after 24-hour strike

Dialogue begins today in Lima between Ministry of Transport officials and the leaders of the association of mass urban transport companies, following the strike on Tuesday in Lima of approximately 260,000 private-sector bus and taxi drivers. The strike was held to protest a new transport law that sharply increases traffic fines. Only a few buses [...]

Peru gives army green light to intervene in Puno protests

Just weeks after a deadly intervention in Bagua, the Peruvian government authorized the army to send troops to Puno, where residents have launched a 72-hour strike to protest the recently enacted Water Law, reported daily El Comercio. The authorization, valid for 10 days as of June 24, aims to provide back-up for police, “and guarantee the [...]

Protests and state of emergency in Amazon region continue, negotiations have so far failed to find solution

After negotiations with premier Yehude Simon fell through on Thursday, indigenous communities in Peru’s Amazon region decided to pursue their protests against the contamination of their ancestral lands by mining companies, and to demand the repeal of a series of decrees they say are promoting unrestricted oil exploration. “Peru is one country, where each and [...]

Protests that leave three dead in Tacna prompt Premier Simon to call off talks until “people calm down”

Two days after declaring a 30-day state of emergency in the southern border province of Tacna, Premier Yehude Simon said he would not discuss protesters’ demands to modify a recently voted mining law until tempers were cooled. “We will travel (to Tacna) only once the population calms down,” said Simon. “Only when they show that [...]

Policeman charged for shotgun murder of campesino protesters during February farmers strike

A local prosecutor in Ayacucho has filed murder charges against a police officer for the deaths of two farmers gunned down during a national farmworker’s strike last February. The criminal charges represent an embarrassing blow to Interior Minister Luis Alva Castro, who was hauled before Congress. He issued a blanket denial to avoid a vote [...]

Peruvian Executive approves citizen arrest clause

Peru’s Executive approved a bill on Wednesday that will implement a Citizen’s Arrest clause found in Article 260 of the Code of Criminal Procedures. The clause will allow citizens to detain and turn over to police anyone found committing a crime in public. The bill could be implemented by April 1 after it is sent [...]

Peruvian Executive strips Cusco of 2008 APEC meetings

Defense Minister Ántero Flores-Aráoz announced today that Cusco will not host meetings during the 2008 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Peru. The announcement follows two days of protests in the former Inca capital last week and a recent statement by Cusco’s Regional Assembly saying it is organizing further strikes over a contentious tourism development law. [...]

Cusco prepares for future protests

Cusco’s Regional Assembly has decided to organize another protest over a contentious tourism development law passed by Congress in mid-February. The president of the assembly, Efraín Yépez, said they have not set a date for the 72-hour protest, but added they will seek support from other departments, particularly in Peru’s jungle region to make it [...]

Cusco protests continue, leaving tourists stranded

Thousands of tourists were stranded after commercial flights were canceled and roads blocked to Cusco, as protests over a tourism development law continue today. Authorities suspended commercial flights to Cusco’s Alejandro Velasco Astete airport and  halted train service to Machu Picchu, Peru’s top tourist attraction and ancient citadel of the Incas to prevent property damage [...]

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