They could not reach a hospital. The roads were blocked.
En las alturas de Desaguadero, donde el aire es escaso y los caminos son la única salvación, cuatro migrantes haitianos murieron de complicaciones pulmonares sin poder alcanzar atención médica, atrapados por los bloqueos de una crisis política que no era la suya. Su muerte eleva a 59 el número de fallecidos desde que comenzaron las protestas en diciembre, recordándonos que las convulsiones políticas rara vez respetan la inocencia de quienes simplemente transitan por el mundo en busca de sobrevivir. La historia de Perú en estas semanas es también la historia de cómo el conflicto interno puede convertirse en sentencia para los más vulnerables.
- 127 puntos de bloqueo cortaron 26 carreteras en 18 regiones el jueves, convirtiendo el sur del Perú en un laberinto sin salida para quienes necesitaban moverse.
- Cuatro migrantes haitianos, ya desplazados y vulnerables, murieron en Desaguadero porque sus pulmones fallaron antes de que cualquier ambulancia pudiera llegar.
- El primer ministro Alberto Otárola anunció las muertes sin admitir preguntas, mientras en Puno y Arequipa otros dos ciudadanos peruanos caían en enfrentamientos con la policía.
- Los manifestantes intentaron tomar aeropuertos en Arequipa, Cuzco y Juliaca, y el centro histórico de Lima se llenó de choques, manteniendo la presión sobre una presidenta que se niega a renunciar.
- El saldo total de 59 muertos desde diciembre —44 manifestantes, un policía, y 14 víctimas colaterales incluyendo un nonato— dibuja el costo humano de una crisis política sin resolución a la vista.
En Desaguadero, ciudad fronteriza entre Perú y Bolivia a más de 3.800 metros de altura, cuatro migrantes haitianos murieron el jueves de complicaciones pulmonares. No pudieron llegar a un hospital. Las carreteras estaban bloqueadas.
Desaguadero es el principal paso terrestre hacia Bolivia, una arteria vital para el comercio y el tránsito humano. Ese día, como gran parte del sur peruano, estaba paralizado por las barricadas de manifestantes que exigen la renuncia de la presidenta Dina Boluarte y la disolución del Congreso. Al final de la jornada, 127 puntos de bloqueo hacían intransitables 26 rutas en 18 de las 25 regiones del país. Los cuatro haitianos —migrantes atrapados en una crisis política ajena— no pudieron moverse. Sus pulmones cedieron sin intervención médica.
El primer ministro Alberto Otárola anunció las muertes en un comunicado sin preguntas. Ese mismo día, dos ciudadanos peruanos fallecieron en Puno y Arequipa durante enfrentamientos entre manifestantes y policías, elevando el total de muertos desde diciembre a 59: 44 manifestantes, un policía y 14 víctimas por causas vinculadas a los bloqueos, entre ellas los cuatro haitianos y un nonato.
La jornada también estuvo marcada por intentos de toma de aeropuertos en Arequipa, Cuzco y Juliaca, y por choques en el centro histórico de Lima. Las demandas no cambian: renuncia presidencial, cierre del Congreso, elecciones este año y una asamblea constituyente.
La muerte de los cuatro haitianos revela una crueldad particular de los bloqueos. Eran personas ajenas al conflicto político, migrantes ya desplazados, sin ningún interés en su resultado. Solo necesitaban llegar a un médico. En un pueblo al borde de Perú, al borde de la supervivencia, las barricadas se convirtieron en condena.
In the high-altitude border town of Desaguadero, where Peru meets Bolivia at more than 12,500 feet above sea level, four Haitian migrants died on Thursday from pulmonary complications. They could not reach a hospital. The roads were blocked.
Desaguadero sits at Peru's main crossing into Bolivia, a crucial artery for trade and movement. On Thursday, like much of southern Peru, it was strangled by barricades erected by protesters demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte and the dissolution of Congress. The blockades had become so extensive that by day's end, 127 separate points along Peru's highways were impassable. Twenty-six different routes across eighteen of the country's twenty-five regions were cut off. The four Haitians—migrants caught in a country convulsed by political crisis—could not move. Their lungs failed. They died without medical intervention.
Prime Minister Alberto Otárola announced the deaths in a statement that took no questions. He expressed regret that the four Haitian citizens had perished from pulmonary conditions, unable to travel and unable to access healthcare because the roads remained blocked. On the same day, two Peruvian citizens died in the southern regions of Puno and Arequipa during clashes between demonstrators and police.
These six deaths—four migrants, two citizens—pushed the overall toll from the protests to fifty-nine since demonstrations began in December following former President Pedro Castillo's failed autogolp. The accounting is grim and specific: forty-four protesters killed, one police officer, and fourteen others dead from various causes tied to the blockades. Among those fourteen are the four Haitians and an unborn child.
Thursday was a day of intense mobilization across the country. Protesters attempted to seize airports in Arequipa, Cuzco, and Juliaca. Lima's historic center filled with demonstrators who clashed with security forces. The demands remained consistent: the president must step down, Congress must close, elections must be held this year, and a new constitutional assembly must be convened. The south, where Desaguadero lies, has been the epicenter of the unrest since the Christmas truce ended and the protests resumed.
The death of the four Haitians illustrates a particular cruelty of the blockades. These were not people engaged in the political struggle. They were migrants, already displaced, already vulnerable, caught in a country's internal conflict with no stake in its outcome. They needed only to reach medical care. The roads would not allow it. In a town at the edge of Peru, at the edge of survival, the blockades became a death sentence.
Citações Notáveis
We regret the deaths of four Haitian citizens in Desaguadero who died from pulmonary conditions because they could not travel and unfortunately died without access to healthcare services due to the blocked roads.— Prime Minister Alberto Otárola
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did the road blockades specifically kill these four Haitians and not others trapped in the same area?
The blockades didn't discriminate, but the Haitians had no resources to work around them. They couldn't afford to wait out the crisis or find alternate routes. They had pulmonary conditions—altitude sickness, respiratory illness—that needed immediate care. In a town at 12,500 feet, that's not optional.
Were they trying to cross into Bolivia when they got sick?
The source doesn't say. They were in Desaguadero, which is the crossing point, but we don't know if they were migrants in transit or if they'd settled there. Either way, they were trapped by the same blockades everyone else faced.
How does the government respond to deaths like this?
The prime minister issued a statement expressing regret, but it was a statement without questions—no dialogue, no accountability. He named the cause: blockades preventing access to healthcare. But the protests continued. The blockades remained.
Are the protesters aware they're killing people who have nothing to do with their cause?
The source doesn't tell us what protesters know or think about the collateral damage. It only documents that the blockades are total—127 points across eighteen regions. When you seal off that much territory, everyone inside suffers, not just the people you're trying to pressure.
What happens next in Desaguadero?
The source doesn't say. But the protests are escalating, not retreating. Airports are being stormed. The death toll keeps climbing. Desaguadero will likely remain blocked as long as the political crisis persists.