International
Peru closes Machu Picchu as protesters arrested in Lima
January 22 | By AFP |
Peru closed the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu Saturday amid steady anti-government protests, stranding hundreds of tourists for hours, as authorities expelled protesters from a Lima university where they have been holed up as part of the crisis engulfing this divided country.
Protests demanding the resignation of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte have been ongoing since early December, leaving 46 people dead and prompting the government to impose a state of emergency in violence-hit areas.
This crisis triggered by the ouster of leftist Indigenous president Pedro Castillo last month stems largely from a gaping inequity between Peru’s urban elite and poor rural Indigenous people in the Andean region who saw him as one of their own and working to make their lives better.
Authorities announced Saturday yet another protester had died following demonstrations Friday in the town of Ilave in that Andean region in the south.
Video footage from Ilave that went viral on social media shows police shooting right at a crowd of Indigenous demonstrators in the town square. Enraged protesters responded by setting fire to a police station, local media reported.
Clashes between police and the crowd in that town near Lake Titicaca and the border with Bolivia left 10 people injured, hospital officials said.
Prior to the closing of Machu Picchu, rail services to the site had already been suspended due to damage to the track by demonstrators. The only way to get up to the popular tourist site is by train.
At least 400 people, including 300 foreigners, were stranded at the foot of the site, in the town of Aguas Calientes, and pleading to be evacuated.
Rescue teams later evacuated 418 tourists, the Tourism Ministry said in a Twitter post accompanied by pictures of a train and seated travelers.
“The closure of the Inca trails network and the Machu Picchu citadel has been ordered due to the social situation and to preserve the safety of visitors,” the Ministry of Culture said in a Saturday statement.
Tourism is vital for Peru’s economy, representing between three to four percent of the country’s GDP.
‘I’m worried’
In Lima, where two days of mass mobilization by demonstrators from the country’s poor Andean region had seemingly concluded, the situation Saturday remained tense.
As night fell hundreds more protesters gathered in the city, mainly around the Congress building.
During the day security forces used an armored vehicle to breach the gate of the University of San Marcos in the city’s downtown, in an attempt to expel protesters who have been sleeping there.
A large contingent of police searched occupants, sometimes forcing them to lie on the ground, AFP journalists observed.
Interior Minister Vicente Romero Canal N television that police intervened after university authorities said some of the squatters were committing crimes. He did not specify what these were.
Around 200 people were arrested, said Alfonso Barrenechea, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
Protesters are trying to keep up pressure on the Peruvian government, defying a state of emergency that now covers almost one-third of the country.
The European Union on Saturday condemned the chaos and the “very large number of casualties,” calling for a peaceful political solution in Peru.
The protests were sparked when former president Castillo, a rural schoolteacher, was removed from office and arrested on December 7 after attempting to dissolve the country’s legislature and rule by decree, amid multiple corruption investigations.
Among the 46 dead since the protests began, 45 were protesters and one was a police officer.
International
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
A U.S. strike on a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, according to Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth, marking the latest in a series of attacks in international waters.
The United States has deployed ships to the Caribbean and sent fighter jets to Puerto Rico as part of a large military force that Washington says is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.
“This vessel, like all the others, was known to our intelligence for being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated on X. “Three narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters,” he added.
Experts argue that the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial executions, even if the targets are known traffickers.
Washington has yet to publicly provide evidence that the targeted individuals were actively smuggling drugs or posed a threat to the United States.
Hegseth said the U.S. would continue “hunting… and killing” suspected traffickers. He also shared video footage of the strike, showing the vessel being hit and engulfed in flames. As in previous videos, sections of the ship were blurred, making it impossible to verify the number of people on board.
The United Nations called on Friday for Washington to halt its attacks.
International
At least 23 killed in Sonora supermarket blast, including minors
At least 23 people were killed and 11 others injured in an explosion at a supermarket in Hermosillo, in the northern Mexican state of Sonora, local authorities reported on Saturday.
“So far, there are 23 confirmed deaths and 11 injured, including minors,” said Sonora Governor Alfonso Durazo in a video message. He added that the injured are receiving treatment in various hospitals across the city.
“I have ordered a thorough and transparent investigation to determine the causes of the incident and assign responsibility where appropriate,” Durazo said.
The explosion occurred at a Waldo’s store in downtown Hermosillo. Local authorities confirmed that the incident was not an attack nor related to any violent act against civilians.
Meanwhile, Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences on X, offering sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives.
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
U.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers
At least 23 killed in Sonora supermarket blast, including minors
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International5 days agoJamaica faces widespread destruction as hurricane Melissa hits the island
-
International2 days agoHurricane Melissa kills over 30, leaves thousands displaced in the Caribbean
-
International4 days agoMelissa leaves path of destruction in Caribbean, 735,000 evacuated in Cuba
-
International3 days agoHurricane Melissa leaves Jamaican residents homeless as recovery efforts begin
-
International2 days agoU.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
-
Central America5 days agoNew dismembered bodies found in San Juan river days after mass killing in Palencia
-
Central America5 days agoFour guatemalan soldiers arrested for stealing weapons from Northern Air Command
-
Central America5 days agoArévalo accuses Porras and judge of undermining democracy in Guatemala
-
International4 days agoArgentina’s Milei opens dialogue with parties to push “Second-Generation Reforms”
-
International3 days agoUS Deputy Secretary criticizes Mexico’s call to end Cuba trade embargo at UN
-
International1 day agoFloods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
-
International3 days agoVenezuela warns citizens who call for invasion risk losing nationality
-
International3 days agoTrump orders immediate U.S. nuclear testing, ending 30-year moratorium
-
International2 days agoTrump sets historic low refugee cap at 7,500, prioritizes white South Africans
-
International3 days agoBrazilian president defends coordinated anti-drug operations after deadly Rio raid
-
International3 days agoMexico advances continental shelf claims at UN Commission in New York
-
International2 days ago
UNICEF: Over 700,000 children affected by Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean
-
International2 days agoPope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
-
International2 days agoU.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
-
International1 day agoFBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
-
International3 days agoSimeón Pérez Marroquín, ‘El Viejo,’ detained for role in Miguel Uribe Turbay assassination plot
-
International2 hours agoAt least 23 killed in Sonora supermarket blast, including minors
-
International2 hours agoU.S. strike in Caribbean kills three suspected drug traffickers