A person stands near the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, a tourism magnet, access to which is being limited by local protests against rising prices amid a worldwide surge most recently triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, outside of Cuzco, Peru on April 18, 2022.
Alessandro Cinque | Reuters
Peruvian police arrested over 200 people accused of illegally entering the campus of a significant Lima university, while authorities in Cusco shut the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu and the Inca trail as deadly anti-government protests spread nationwide.
Dozens of Peruvians were injured after tensions flared again on Friday as police clashed with protesters, with security forces within the capital city Lima using tear gas to repel demonstrators throwing glass bottles and stones, as fires burned within the streets.
Some 46 people have been killed within the weeks-long clashes and one other nine in traffic accidents related to the barricades arrange amid the protests.
Alfonso Barrenechea, with the crime prevention division of the prosecutor’s office, told local radio station RPP that arrested 205 people on the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos for illegally trespassing on the university’s premises and for allegedly stealing electronic goods.
A gaggle of masked protesters stormed the campus late Friday and removed security personnel from the campus after taking vests and other equipment from them, the university said in an announcement.
In videos circulating online, an armored vehicle may be seen breaking down a door on the university campus to permit entry for security forces.
Within the Cusco region, the gateway to Machu Picchu, Glencore’s major Antapaccay copper mine suspended operations on Friday after protesters attacked the premises – one among the biggest within the country – for the third time this month.
Airports in Arequipa, Cusco and the southern city of Juliaca were also attacked by demonstrators, delivering a fresh blow to Peru’s tourism industry.
Cultural authorities in Cusco said in an announcement that “in view of the present social situation wherein our region and the country are immersed, the closure of the Inca trail network and Machu Picchu has been ordered, as of January 21 and until further notice.”
The imposing Incan citadel is a significant tourist attraction, with over 1,000,000 visitors per 12 months, though that number was reduced as a consequence of the pandemic.
Protests have rocked Peru since former President Pedro Castillo was ousted in December after he attempted to dissolve the legislature to forestall an impeachment vote.
The unrest, which until this week had been concentrated in Peru’s south, has prompted the federal government to increase a state of emergency to 6 regions, curtailing some civil rights.