Chiroque told CNN on Friday that 140 travelers in total have been released.
Earlier, Wadson Trujillo, a leader of the Cuninico community, confirmed to Peruvian local media RRP that his community stopped the boats in an effort to pressure the government to take action on the oil spill, which has disrupted water supplies. They were asking the government to declare a state of emergency over the oil spill.
Among the tourists released Friday was Angela Ramirez, a 28-year-old woman from Trujillo, Peru. He told CNN in a phone call that about 20 foreigners and dozens of local travelers were held in boats along the Marañon River in Cuninico by the indigenous community.
He said we were all released at about 2pm. local time (3 p.m. ET) and headed to the town of Nauta, Loreto Province, in the next few hours.
“We hope to get there tomorrow morning. we had to change boats because the boat we were traveling on remains held by the indigenous groups, but they allowed us to leave on another boat,” Ramirez said.
Their release came after more than 28 hours of negotiations, he said. “It’s finally over, I’m very happy, very relieved,” she told CNN.
Ramirez was traveling with a group of tourists consisting of women, children and foreigners. He added that among the passengers “there were children, including a one-month-old baby, pregnant women and the elderly.”
On Friday, Peru’s undersecretary for the environment, Marilu Chahua, traveled to the region to mediate with indigenous groups that have been protesting an oil spill along the Marañon River for nearly two months.
The government announced the extension of an environmental emergency decree to deal with the oil spill and persuade indigenous groups to release the tourists.
