Tourists Stranded in Peru After Protests Break Out

After violent protests broke out in the South-American county of Peru, due to their new president, the archeological site of Macchu Picchu was closed indefinitely, alongside the Inca trail leading up to it.

Because of that, hundreds of tourists who just wanted to stand in awe of the massive structures in the Peruvian mountains were left stranded. They had to be rescued from the tourist attraction turned into a disaster.

Macchu Picchu abruptly closed, due to violent protests breaking out

In the cities though, the violent protesting took a toll on both the country’s law enforcement and its civilian population; dozens of people were killed and injured on the street for protesting the ousting of their previous president.

Likely due to the violent behavior, some rail services were also damaged, making access to the Macchu Picchu site virtually impossible.

This abrupt suspension of rail service effectively left 418 tourists stranded at the historical site, but after almost three full days, the authorities reported 148 foreign tourists and 270 Peruvians were rescued.

However, this wasn’t even the first incident of its kind. A similar thing happened only last month, once again because of civil unrest; although it only resulted in around a hundred tourists being airlifted out of the site.

Despite all the chaos surrounding it, Macchu Picchu remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries to this day and it draws in visitors from all across the globe.

Seeing as almost a million people visit it every year, many have started to consider it one of the world’s new greatest wonders; although that may be a stretch.

Salvation for tourists, but not for Peruvians

Thankfully, anyone stranded at the site will be receiving replacement tickets for the tickets they’d paid for, at least according to the country’s ministry of culture. It announced the new ones will be valid for a full month after the protests die down.

However, that in itself is a difficult statement to make, considering the new president, Dina Boularte, is refusing to step down, even though thousands are calling for fresh elections.

The people of Peru want Pedro Castillo, the country’s previous, left-leaning president to be released from jail, where he’s been put on account of charges of conspiracy against the state and rebellion.

In his eyes, and those of the people of Peru, he remains the country’s legitimate leader; while that may be far from the truth, there’s certainly been a lot of shady developments leading to his arrest.

A report from a Peruvian ombudsman showed up until now, 58 Peruvians were injured in the protests that followed Castillo’s arrest. Now, several roads have been blocked as the police continue firing tear gas at the protestors.

The EU called the Peruvian police out on their excessive use of force, calling for urgent measures that would restore peace to the country, which won’t be happening any time soon.

Peru has been a ticking time bomb when it comes to civil unrest; years of political chaos have been the perfect catalysts for this month’s and last month’s protests.

Some regional governors also called for Boularte to step down from her position, but she resisted every one of them.

This article appeared in The Record Daily and has been published here with permission.

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