Peru begins states of emergency in areas of protest

Peru ordered a state of emergency in parts of the Amazon region Tuesday, citing the presence of drug traffickers and rebels, but also amid strikes and protests by coca growers who complain of "forced eradication" of their crops.

The emergency, said officials, was to "protect the population" from trafficking groups profiting from illegal coca cultivation, and from remnants of the Shining Path guerrilla movement.

The declaration lasting 60 days in the rural districts of Cholon, Monzon, and Leoncio Prado give police more power to make arrests and clamp down on freedom of assembly.

But the areas on Sunday also saw hundreds of farmers begin an indefinite strike and block a major highway connecting Ucayali department, some 600 kilometers (370 miles) northeast of Lima, with the rest of the country, to protest what they said were "forced eradication" measures of their crops.

The crackdown comes weeks after the government of President Ollanta Humala vowed to the United States it would resume a coca eradication program it had earlier suspended.

According to a United Nations report, Peru in 2010 became the world's largest producer of coca leaf -- the raw ingredient for the narcotic cocaine -- overtaking Colombia, where production has seen a steady decline.

The farmers' strike is the first major social problem faced by Humala, a former military officer and leftist nationalist who took office in late July.

Separately, Peru's anti-drug czar Ricardo Soberon on Tuesday urged a "crusade" to prevent drug money from infiltrating the government as he presented to Congress the outlines of the government's five-year anti-drug policy.

Soberon said that Humala's main goal is to "face down with the toughest rigor and efficiency the organized crime syndicates associated with narcotrafficking."

Soberon said that a strong emphasis should be placed on cracking down on money laundering, monitoring chemicals used for processing coca leaves and extracting cocaine, and improving police intelligence to better track down drug shipments.

Soberon also said that in a meeting with farmer protest leaders on Monday, he told them to first lift the road block, then there will be "permanent dialog" with the government.

"Roadblocks cannot be an instrument for conversations," Soberon said.

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