Indigenous Peoples Occupy Oil Pipeline in the Peruvian Amazon

On Wednesday, the protesters who took over Station 5 of the North Peruvian Oil Pipeline (ONP) announced a strike that will last until President Pedro Castillo's administration attends all their demands.

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This oil pipeline is located in the Manseriche Municipality in the Amazonian region of Loreto. The protest is part of a regional strike called by the Awajun Native Federation of the Apaga River (FENARA) and the Peoples Affected by Oil Activity (PAAP).

"Not a single drop of oil is going to come out of the Amazon until the government takes care of us," stated the Indigenous Association for Development and Conservation of Bajo Yurimaguas (AIDCBY).

The protesters require the fulfillment of the promises made by previous administrations. In particular, they demand a trust fund to finance the decontamination of areas impacted by oil spills and infrastructure construction for essential services, such as health and education.

FENARA urged the government "not to provoke with a police deployment" and called for "the implementation of an intercultural dialogue".  This strike "comes as a result of the exhaustion of the demands for dialogue that were made in Lima," said the Inter-Ethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Jungle (AIDESEP) President Jorge Perez.

Demonstrators also request that Castillo and the Energy Minister Ivan Merino travel to Station 5 to support their claims.

Meanwhile, the public company PETROPERU evacuated all workers from the oil station and stopped pumping crude oil. It described the protesters as "irresponsible" and announced that it would take legal action against them.