Protesters Block Peru’s Interoceanic Highway After Clashes With Police

Hundreds of miners blocked a stretch of Peru’s Interoceanic Highway near the border with Brazil on Friday, after a clash between police and protesters the day before left at least one dead and more than a dozen injured.
The protest in the Amazonian region of Madre de Dios began in response to alleged abuses committed by police officers during an operation against illegal mining Thursday in the Tambopata natural reserve.
Representatives from Peru’s autonomous Ombudsman’s office said that at least one person died and 13 were injured in clashes with the police, who reportedly called in army reinforcements to quell the disturbances.
The clashes come as the world’s second largest copper producer faces a wave of social conflicts in the mining sector, which already have paralyzed important operations this year, including the Las Bambas deposit of the Chinese miner MMG Ltd earlier this year.
Illegal mining has also been the source of serious unrest and violence in the interior of the Andean nation. Local industry estimates that around 10% to 15% of Peru’s gold production comes from artisanal or informal miners, mostly in remote and poor areas.