Protests at Chinese Copper Mine in Peru Continue After Local Leader Freed

[TomSea]

Protests at Chinese Copper Mine in Peru Continue After Local Leader Freed
By Mitra Taj and Marco Aquino

CHALLHUAHUACHO, Peru/LIMA (Reuters) - Peruvian police on Friday freed the leader of an indigenous community that has blocked roads to a major copper mine, but hours later arrested his second-in-command, accusing him of running over police officers while driving drunk.

The release of Gregorio Rojas, the president of the Quechua-speaking community Fuerabamba, had been a key demand of Fuerabamba villagers who have cut off access to Chinese miner MMG Ltd's copper mine Las Bambas, halting its exports.

Police had accused Rojas of belonging to a criminal organization that tried to extort MMG. But a week after his arrest, Rojas was freed in the capital Lima without charge.

Read more at: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2019-03-29/peru-declares-state-of-emergency-near-china-owned-mine-as-protests-mount