The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says seven Haitian migrants died in the Andean highlands of Peru since the start of this year, as their efforts to cross into Bolivia have been stymied by protests against the Peruvian government.
In a report on Saturday, the UNHCR said six of the deaths, including that of a minor, occurred in the small town of Desaguadero, where a bridge over a river of the same name links Peru and Bolivia.
According to a UNHCR spokeswoman in Peru, Iris Bano Romero, the other death, occurred in the town of Juli, also near the Bolivian border.
The Haitians fell victim to a combination of factors: difficult access to food, shelter and supplies, and temperatures — at an altitude of 12,500 feet, sometimes near freezing.
In addition to the deaths, two other people have been hospitalized with pneumonia since last Thursday, one of them in critical condition.
Bano Romero said the deaths and illnesses occurred despite the “very generous” efforts of locals to help.
The Haitians, some of whom had spent years in Chile or Brazil, were hoping to eventually reach the United States.
Bano Romero added that blockades erected amid the political crisis in Peru have made life difficult for both locals and migrants, making it hard to obtain basics like food and fuel, or to pay for rent and other services.
The blockades on Desaguadero’s international bridge are among several around the country erected to protest against the government of President Dina Boluarte.
She succeeded Pedro Castillo as president after he was ousted from office and arrested on December 7 after attempting to dissolve Congress and govern by decree.
CMC
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