Peru: Amazonian ethnic group blocks river demanding government presence due to oil spill

Members of the Cuninico ethnic group, settled in the Peruvian department of Loreto (northern Amazon), are blocking the Marañon River, preventing the passage of ships and demanding the presence of the government due to an oil spill in the area.

“The boats [on the Marañón river] are not hijacked, only prevented from continuing their route; that is, they could return to their point of departure without inconvenience,” said Galo Vásquez, representative of the people of Cuninico, to the local radio station RPP.

The Marañón is a navigable river, a tributary of the Amazon, which was affected by an oil spill last week.

A rupture caused the spill in the Norperuano pipeline, the country’s main pipeline, which transports oil extracted from the jungle to ports on the coast.

Sixteen ships have been prevented from passing due to the blockade of the river, which has been carried out by anchoring other vessels near the Loreto district of Urarinas.

The natives demand the presence of President Pedro Castillo or the Prime Minister, Anibal Torres, to attend to their demands for remediation of the spill in their territories.

With information from Sputnik