Amazon hostage crisis: In the Peruvian Amazon, indigenous tribes have taken dozens of tourists hostage to protest the government’s inaction after an oil spill from a pipeline. “With this action, we want to attract the attention of the government,” Watson Trujillo, head of the northern municipality of Cuninico, told the radio station RPP Thursday (local time).
About 70 tourists being held captive on a tributary of the Marañon are Peruvians and foreigners, he added. According to the information, the foreign holidaymakers come from Switzerland, USA, Spain, France, Great Britain and Switzerland. Among them are women and children.
2500 tons of crude oil ended up in the river
Tribal representative Trujillo has called for a government delegation to be sent to the region to investigate the environmental damage caused by the rupture of the Norperuano oil pipeline in mid-September. In the accident, 2,500 tons of crude oil flowed into the Cuninico River.
Earlier, the indigenous people had already blocked the passage for all ships on the river to draw attention to the oil slick. At the end of September, the government declared a state of emergency for 90 days in the region, which is home to about 2,500 indigenous peoples.
The 800-kilometer-long Norperuano pipeline, owned by state-owned Petroperu, was built about 40 years ago to transport crude oil from the Amazon to the coast. According to Petroperu, the pipeline was deliberately damaged by a 21-centimeter cut. (AFP/bab)
Source: Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
