- Amazon residents have taken about 70 tourists hostage to protest an oil spill in the region.
- After talks with the Peruvian government, they are now to be released shortly.
- According to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA), the hostages include also a person with a Swiss passport. According to his own statements, he is doing well.
Tourists are currently being held by Peruvian residents on the ship “Eduardo 11” on the Marañón River in Peru, according to village chief Trujillo Acosta. Among the passengers on the ship are Peruvians as well as tourists from the USA, Spain, France, Great Britain and Switzerland.
According to SRF, the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) is also aware of the kidnapping. It confirms that a Swiss national is stuck on a boat in Peru in the Amazon region of Loreto, where the village of Cuninico is located. According to his own statements, he is doing well, writes the EDA. Media spokeswoman Léa Zürcher also writes that the Swiss embassy is in contact with the responsible Peruvian authorities and the embassies of the other countries concerned.
Hostage release soon
“After discussions with the village chief of Cuninico, our request to release the people was accepted,” said the Peruvian government’s civil bureau. “The measure will be carried out shortly.”
Legend:
The Río Marañón is the left and larger of the two source rivers of the Amazon in South America. It runs through a large part of the Andes in northern Peru.
IMAGO/Panthermedia
Mayor Watson Trujillo Acosta also confirmed the decision on radio station RPP: “Respect for life must come first. We will make it possible for people to be brought to their destination on the ship.”
Oil leaked from pipeline
By arresting the vacationers, the villagers want to persuade the government to do something about an oil spill in the region. Most recently, oil had repeatedly leaked from a pipeline belonging to the energy company Petroperú and had polluted the Marañón river.
People had to drink water contaminated with petroleum and eat fish without the government’s attention.
“We demand that a state of emergency be declared and that a commission led by the President visit our region,” Trujillo Acosta said. He tells that people had to drink water contaminated with petroleum and eat fish. According to the village head, not only the approximately 1000 inhabitants of his community are affected, but almost 80 other communities.
Legend:
The villagers want a state of emergency to be declared in their region to combat the effects of the oil spill. (icon picture)
EPA/PAOLO AGUILAR
Petroperú said that the pipeline is being deliberately damaged again and again. More than 50 cases of damage have been registered since December last year. According to its own information, the company took care of cleaning up the affected areas and supplied the residents with drinking water and food.
There is a risk of supply bottlenecks with vegetables
“They are kind and respectful to us, but this is the only way they have to find a solution for their village,” Ángela Ramírez, a cyclist who was stuck on the ship, wrote on Facebook. “The sooner they are heard, the faster they let us go.”
Apparently, the villagers did not let transport ships pass either and blocked the Marañón River. According to traders, there could therefore be supply bottlenecks with vegetables in the city of Iquitos. “Our goods are stuck because people won’t let the ships through,” said dealer spokesman Diego Bautista on radio station RPP. “Vegetable prices are already rising.”