The law enforcement officers could reopen the Pan-American highway after launching tear gas early in the morning, as it had been blocked in the southern region of Ica and the northern region of La Libertad, in demand of better wages and working conditions.
However, the peasants regrouped in other points of the route and blocked it, a sequence that is repeated over and over again until in Ica, whose capital is 300 kilometers off. The police declared they had exhausted all tear gas charges and claimed five officers were wounded.
Witnesses noted that the strongest resistance was reported in Chinatown, where many agricultural workers are currently living. They added that some rioters threw homemade fire bombs at the police force.
Some 520 kilometers north of Lima, the law enforcement agents surrounded the urban area of Victor Raul neighborhood and reopened the road in the morning, but not permanently.
General Cesar Cervantes, head of the National Police, acknowledged the 2,000 police officers sent to unblock the route are conducting a long-term raid and that every time a road closure is replaced, they will clear it again.
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