Canada Asks Citizens To Avoid Non-Essential Travel To Peru As Protestors Clash With Authorities In Attempted Airport Takeover

As protestors in southern Peru clash with authorities after they attempted to take over an airport, the Canadian government on Monday is warning all its citizens against any non-essential travel in certain regions of the country.

Protestors in Peru’s Puno region had attempted a takeover of the Inca Manco Capac airport on Friday, but found themselves clashing with the local police officers, who used tear gas as a way to disperse the large crowd that had assembled in the area, according to Al-Jazeera.

Fifteen individuals, including two police officers, were reported to have been injured during the incident.

Protests across Peru have escalated since the ouster and arrest of former President Pedro Castillo from the position in December. A reported 22 people have died since the protests began, with hundreds more injured, and after a short Christmas break, the protests have again escalated, with around 49 roadblocks in rural Peru, Reuters reported.

In response to this, the Canadian government has issued an advisory to its citizens to avoid non-essential travel at the affected regions of the country, which includes Arequipa, Cuzco, Puno, and Ica due to the escalating violent situation inside of the country, Global News Canada reported.

They also cautioned against traveling near the border between Peru and Colombia as well as different provinces in Huánuco, Ucayali, and San Martín due to “domestic terrorism and criminal activity” in the area which may or may not be related to the drug trafficking and armed guerilla groups in the area.

Protestors in the country are asking for the resignation of current President Dina Boluarte, as well as the release of Castillo from prison, the closure of Peru’s Congress, and early elections for the country.

Boluarte herself is reportedly being investigated alongside three other ministers by the country’s attorney general for possible fault in the deaths during the protests in December, which human rights groups say may have been killed due to the security forces’ use of deadly firearms against the protesting group.

Castillo currently is serving 18 months of pre-trial detention while he is being charged with rebellion.