CUSCO (Peru), Jan 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rail and air links to Peru’s famed Machu Picchu site had been cut early Friday after a flare-up in weeks-long protests that has killed dozens.
The airport in Cusco, gateway to Peru’s tourism crown jewel, was closed as protests kicked off in the city, leading to clashes with police.
Supporters of ousted president Pedro Castillo have marched and barricaded streets around the South American country since December, demanding new elections and the removal of current leader Dina Boluarte.
The demonstrations have at times turned violent and at least 42 people have been killed in clashes with security forces, including a police officer burned alive in a vehicle, while hundreds more have been injured.
A 16-year-old protester, hospitalized since Monday, died Thursday in the city, bringing the total number of civilians killed there to 18.
In Cusco, the main airport was closed suddenly Thursday “as a preventative measure,” Peru’s transportation ministry announced on Twitter, adding that the closure would be “indefinite”.
It is the second time the airport has shut down since the unrest began.
Train connections between Cusco and Machu Picchu were also suspended until further notice, the railway company said in a statement citing safety concerns.
Major flashpoints have occurred near Peru’s airports, which are guarded by security forces after protesters stormed runways during an initial wave of uprisings in early December.
Clashes broke out Wednesday night in Cusco, the former capital of the Incan empire, with protesters attempting to enter the airport, while some torched a bus station, attacked shops and blocked train tracks with large rocks.
Also on Thursday, trade unions, left-wing parties and social collectives marched through Lima, the capital that has largely been spared violence so far, to denounce a “racist and classist… dictatorship.”
In addition to demanding Boluarte’s resignation, protesters want Congress to be dissolved and a new body set up to rewrite the constitution — which was adopted in 1993 under the mandate of Alberto Fujimori.
The former president is serving a 25-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity committed during his time in power.
The mass demonstrations broke out in early December after Castillo was ousted from office for attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, seeking to prevent an impeachment vote against him.
Boluarte, 60, was Castillo’s vice president but took over once he was ousted on Dec 7. — NNN-AGENCIES
