MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Peru sends four tons of food to Bolivia and joins humanitarian airlift over blockades

Bolivia's Foreign Ministry thanked Lima in an official communiqué for the “willingness to cooperate” shown by the Peruvian government

The government of Peru on Sunday delivered to Bolivia a donation of four tons of food intended for families affected by the road blockades that highland peasant sectors have maintained for 19 days, in an initiative that adds Lima to the growing regional humanitarian airlift organized around the government of President Rodrigo Paz. The aid arrived aboard a Peruvian military aircraft and was received by Bolivian Deputy Minister of Consular Management Héctor Huanca and the Peruvian Ambassador in La Paz, Carlos Chávez-Taffur, at El Alto international airport.

Bolivia's Foreign Ministry thanked Lima in an official communiqué for the “willingness to cooperate” shown by the Peruvian government, which responded “immediately and in solidarity to the request made by the Bolivian state.” The Ministry emphasized that the operation “reflects the principles of solidarity, regional integration, and mutual support between the two states.” Hours later, the same air channel was used to repatriate dozens of Bolivians who had been stranded for 14 days in the southern Peruvian city of Puno, where they had taken part in an artisan fair, unable to return home due to the closure of international roads.

The Peruvian donation adds to the cooperation received over the past ten days from Argentina, Chile, and the United States. The Argentine government of President Javier Milei authorized the dispatch of two Hercules aircraft to transport food from the eastern city of Santa Cruz to La Paz and El Alto, in an operation coordinated with the Bolivian executive. Chile sent last week a contribution equivalent to 480 food crates. The United States government announced on Saturday the dispatch of food assistance, medical supplies, and logistical support as part of its backing for the Paz administration, in line with the stance of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who last week described the Bolivian situation as an attempt by “criminals and drug traffickers” to overthrow “democratically elected leaders.”

The country's roads woke up on Sunday with 59 active blockade points, distributed across six of the nine regions and concentrated mainly in the Andean zone. The picture remains in place following the failure, on Saturday, of the second joint Police and Armed Forces operation attempting to clear one of the trunk routes taken over by peasants from the La Paz highlands, who maintain their pressure measures to demand the president's resignation six months into his term. The blockades have cut off the strategic corridor between La Paz and El Alto, the borders with Peru and Chile, and the connections to southern and central Bolivia.

Former president Evo Morales (2006-2019), a central figure in the mobilizations from his entrenched position in the Chapare, on Sunday demanded the calling of general elections within 90 days and warned that any move by the executive toward militarization would constitute a “suicidal” option. The Paz government maintains its convocation of a session of the Economic and Social Council scheduled for 27 May at the Casa Grande del Pueblo.