‘We consider it an act of terror’ – Transport workers strike in Lima to protest gang extortion

“Hundreds of transport workers took to the streets of Lima on Thursday to protest against gang extortion after three colleagues were murdered in the region. Footage shows protesters carrying coffins as they marched and chanted, and holding banners and signs reading: “No to extortion.” ‘, ‘I don’t fall for extortion, I report’ and ‘Enough extortion, death penalty without mercy’. Police officers watched the protest and escorted some transport workers through the barricades. Transport worker Willy Lavarte said the sector sees these killings as “an act of terrorism,” with the perpetrators accused of using “weapons of war such as grenades.” “I don’t know what the government is waiting for to take action against these criminals, not to treat them as common criminals, but as terrorists,” he added. These have reached the levels we are experiencing now is because someone is not doing his job do.” Meanwhile, Martin Valeriano, president of the National Association for the Integration of Transporters, estimated that the 14 attacks on transport workers left three dead and one injured. Criminal gangs have demanded payments of up to 50,000 Peruvian soles ($13,500) per month per transport company, according to media reports. They would then attack vehicles with gunfire, regardless of whether they were carrying passengers, if bus companies refused to comply. In response, the Peruvian government declared a 60-day state of emergency in several areas of Lima on Thursday, while the military and police jointly investigated the extortion issues. tackle in the region. The government acknowledged that extortion in Peru increased fivefold between 2021 and 2023.