More than 240 tourists, including American and British citizens, have been freed after being held by a tribe in Peru.
Community leaders in the Cuenico region told local media that the group was taken hostage around 10 a.m. on Nov. 3 as part of a protest against the Peruvian government following more than 40 oil spills in the region. The hostages included pregnant women, a one-month-old baby and the elderly.
In a statement to ABC, the US Department of Justice said the situation has now been resolved. A total of 248 people, including 228 Peruvian nationals, were detained on the boat for more than 24 hours, the DoJ said.
“Our specific request is that the government declare a state of emergency due to the ongoing oil spills in our region, and that a committee be appointed under the president’s leadership,” community leader Watson Trujillo told the National Institute. TV news.
Angela Ramirez, a resident who claims she was detained by an indigenous group, Written on social media The hostages included children.
“We spent the night here. We are without water to drink, the sun is hot, children are crying, the youngest is only a month old, pregnant, disabled and elderly,” Ramirez said on Facebook. “Now there is no electricity to charge our phones, no water to clean us.”
Local resident Angela Ramirez, who said she was detained by a group of natives, wrote on social media that there were children on the boat.
(Angela Ramirez)
Ramirez said the leaders who detained them were kind and respectful, and that “the sooner the government responds to your request, the sooner the group will be released.”
Former Peruvian Prime Minister Anibal Torres criticized local media for not actively helping the hostages and blamed some from the community of Cuñico for the spill of about 2,500 barrels of oil, which killed at least three residents.
According to Country, more than 6,000 people use water affected by oil spills in Cuenico and surrounding communities. Leaders had already blocked access to the rivers and moved to the capital to protest against the government.
The spill was caused by Norperuano, Peru’s longest pipeline. The government declared a 90-day state of emergency at the end of September after spills in Cuñíko and Urerinas, but no agreement has been reached with local residents.
The BBC reported that very few British nationals were among the group arrested.
“We started running out of food and water. “We’re fine, but we’re worried about the pregnant women, diabetics, children, elderly and other sick people we have on board, so we’re starting to get really desperate,” Charlotte told Wiltshire Network.
“We’re a little worried about our boat being moved closer to the village, but I understand it’s a little easier access for potential supplies later.”
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