Peru Deploys Army on Border With Ecuador to Block Migrants

President Francisco Sagasti's administration on Wednesday deployed hundreds of Peruvian officers throughout the border with Ecuador to prohibit immigrants from entering the country amid its second wave of COVID-19.

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"We will keep the border blocked for as long as necessary to prevent the entry of immigrants infected with COVID-19," Peruvian Armed Forces Joint Command tweeted.

The joint decision "seeks to control our country's epidemiological situation," Peruvian Defense Minister Nuria Esparch added.

The operation includes over 50 armored vehicles, trucks and patrol cars, and over 1,200 military personnel. They blocked 30 illegal crossings detected along the Peru-Ecuador border.

The military deployment occurred a week after the Peruvian National Police (PNP) informed on the arrest of near 500 illegal immigrants.

"We seek to prevent migrants from becoming victims of human trafficking and smuggling," Esparch explained. 

However, local outlets assured this is the Sagasti administration's political move to win votes in the upcoming presidential elections.

Since the beginning of the year, Peru has been facing the second wave of contagions. The national hospital network is on the verge of collapse, while deaths soared to more than a hundred a day.