Riots in Peru – Machu Picchu closed: 400 tourists stranded

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Due to the ongoing unrest in Peru, the Machu Picchu World Heritage Site, which is popular with tourists from all over the world, has been closed. Peru’s Ministry of Culture announced in Lima on Saturday that the closure of the historic Inca site had been ordered “because of the social situation and to protect the integrity of the visitors”. At least 400 people, including 300 foreigners, have been stranded in Aguas Calientes at the base of the Inca site mountain.

Visitors to Aguas Calientes “could not leave because the rails are damaged in places,” said Tourism Minister Luis Fernando Helguero. Some tourists have chosen to walk to Piscacucho, which is connected to the road network. However, this takes “six hours or more and very few people can do it,” said the minister.

During the protests, access to Machu Picchu was repeatedly restricted. Operation of the nearby Cusco airport was suspended. By mid-December, hundreds of foreign tourists were already stranded around Machu Picchu.

Unrest since Castillo’s impeachment
Peru has been ravaged by unrest since the deposition and arrest of left-wing President Pedro Castillo on December 7. The demonstrators demand the resignation of his successor, Dina Boluarte, and the dissolution of parliament to hold new elections without delay. Nearly 50 people were killed in the wave of protests. A state of emergency has now been declared for almost a third of the Andean country.

Another dead in protests
Another fatal accident was reported on Saturday from the small town of Ilave in the southern region of Puno. A man was seriously injured during a protest on Friday and has been hospitalized as a result, an official told AFP news agency. He succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.

According to hospital reports, ten other people were injured in clashes between members of the indigenous Aymara people and police. The police crackdown on the protests so upset protesters in Ilave that they set fire to a police station on Saturday morning, according to television footage. A police station has also been set on fire in Zepita, in the Puno region. No one was injured.

EU calls for “end of violence” and “peaceful solution”
Meanwhile, the EU condemned the ongoing violence in Peru and called on the authorities to quickly find a peaceful solution to the problems. An EU spokesman lamented the high number of casualties since the protests began on Saturday. “Peaceful social protests that respect the rule of law are legitimate in a democratic society,” said an EU statement. However, the EU condemned “the widespread acts of violence” and “the disproportionate use of force by the security forces”.

Source: Krone

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