Hundreds of tourists remain stranded in a town near the ruined mountain city of Machu Picchu as protests grip the country of Peru.
Americans, Europeans and South Americans cannot leave the town of Aguas Calientas, near the base of Machu Picchu, as the government has indefinitely suspended train service. Machu Picchu Mayor Darwin Baca said he is trying to arrange helicopter transport to get them out, according to Axios.
“We asked the government to help us establish helicopter flights to evacuate tourists,” Baca said.
Among the tourists trapped on the mountain are two Chicago police officers, a pregnant couple from Acworth, Georgia, and a captain of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, who told Florida’s Local 10 that about 200 American citizens remain in the city. . Thousands more are unable to travel across the country due to the protests.
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“From what I understand, the rest of the country isn’t doing too well,” said Fire Captain Brian Vega. “They’re rioting, burning things.”
Protesters carry a placard reading ‘Closing the coup Congress’, amid violent protests following the ousting and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, in Ayacucho, Peru on December 15, 2022.
(Reuters/Miguel Gutiérrez Chero)
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on Wednesday dissolved the country’s Congress and called new elections before a new attempt to remove him from office. He set up a new emergency government and said he would make leadership changes in the judiciary, police and constitutional court.
The move to oust Castillo involved allegations of corruption, with six investigations opened against the president.
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Castillo’s actions, seen as an effort to preserve power, prompted Congress to oust him entirely and replace him with Dina Boluarte, his former vice president. The nomination has proved incredibly unpopular, with many voters seeing Castillo as “one of us”, while Boluarte remains distant and unknown to them.
Boluarte sent authorities to crack down on the protests, but that only caused the violence to spike, leaving at least seven people dead on Thursday night, with more than 50 injured. A judge has ordered Castillo detained for up to 18 months while prosecutors prepare a case against him.
Protesters stand on an airport tarmac amid violent protests following the ouster and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, in Ayacucho, Peru December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Miguel Gutierrez Chero.
(Reuters/Miguel Gutiérrez Chero)
The demonstrators are now demanding the freedom of Castillo, the resignation of Boluarte and new elections to choose a president and a congress. They burned police stations, blocked highways and took control of airport runways.
Boluarte declared a state of emergency on Friday to curb the unrest and sent the military to disperse the protests, bringing the death toll to more than 22 people, reported the New York Times.
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Two ministers have resigned over the deaths of Peruvian citizens, with outgoing education minister Patricia Correa saying the deaths of citizens at the hands of the government “have no justification”.
Vega said the unrest has left the country – and tourists – in a state of utter chaos, with local authorities unable to tell him if they can evacuate people by Christmas. He has called on US lawmakers to work out an air bridge.
Soldiers are forming up after arriving as reinforcements amid violent protests following the ousting and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo, in Ayacucho, Peru December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Miguel Gutierrez Chero.
(Reuters/Miguel Gutiérrez Chero)
“Hopefully they can help us in some way and get us safely back to the United States to see our friends and family,” she said.
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About 5,000 tourists are stranded in the city of Cusco as they wait for flights to restart, the mayor of Machu Picchu told AFP news agency.
“What they fear is arriving in Cusco and then not being able to go to their country, because it could get worse,” said the mayor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
