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Peru opens tourist hub airport amid nationwide protests

The airport in Cusco, the gateway to the famed Machu Picchu site in southern Peru, reopened Saturday after being shuttered over a flare-up in weeks-long protests that have killed dozens.

People take part in a demonstration and ceremony to pay a final tribute to Remo Candia, the leader of the Anta peasant community, at Cusco’s main square in Peru, on January 12, 2023. Protests by radical sectors continued this Wednesday in the southern Andes of Peru with marches calling for the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, which led to clashes with law enforcement and left one protester dead and around thirty injured in Cusco. The protester’s death brought to 41 the total number of fatalities resulting from the protests that began a month ago, including a policeman who was burned alive by a mob, according to the institution. AFP

Supporters of ousted president Pedro Castillo have marched and barricaded streets around the South American country since December, demanding new elections and the removal of current leader Dina Boluarte.

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Authorities Thursday suspended operations as a preventative measures at the airport, which handles the second-most air traffic in the country, after demonstrators tried to reach the transportation hub.

In December, it suspended operations for five days.

The countrywide demonstrations have at times turned violent and at least 42 people have been killed in clashes with security forces.

The number of protest roadblocks in Peru meanwhile climbed Saturday to 100, with blockages particularly concentrated around Lima, transport authorities said.

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