In Peru, thousands of bus drivers strike over gang extortions

FRANCE 24 English

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00:00On Thursday, the Peruvian capital was paralyzed after 3,000 vehicles stopped service in a

00:06giant transportation strike.

00:09Fed up with violent blackmail campaigns by organized crime, transport workers demanded

00:15that the government do more to protect them.

00:17We suffer from hitmen, extortions and protection fees.

00:24What is the government's response to all this?

00:26There is total inaction.

00:28If they cannot govern and solve this crime situation, they should go home.

00:35In Lima, gangs routinely insist on protection payments from the city's numerous transport

00:40companies.

00:41If the demands are refused, they attack the vehicles with gunfire, even if they are carrying

00:46passengers.

00:48The union president said that this year, there have been 14 attacks and three drivers killed.

00:54After the protests, the Peruvian military announced a two-month state of emergency

00:58in several districts of Lima.

01:02It will be the responsibility of the national police of Peru to maintain control of internal

01:08order with support actions carried out by the armed forces.

01:14Extortion rackets have become the bane of citizens in several Latin American countries,

01:18as businesses, transport companies and even entire towns find themselves forced to shell

01:24out payments to criminal groups.

01:26According to intelligence sources, huge profits can make the shakedown business more lucrative

01:31than drug trafficking, human trafficking or even illegal mining.

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