The South American country of Peru has fallen into chaos since the ouster of President Pedro Castillo, with violent riots by hundreds of thousands of his supporters across the country leaving at least 14 dead, 40 people hospitalized, and hundreds injured.

The new government declared a police state on Wednesday in an attempt to quell the violence and chaos. The riots began after Castillo was ousted last week after he attempted to dissolve Congress prior to a third impeachment vote.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning to Peru earlier this week but meanwhile, many Israelis who were vacationing in the South American country are stranded there.

Rabbi Ofer Karipour, who has lived in Peru for 16 years and runs the Chabad house in Cusco, a popular tourist hotspot, told Channel 12 News: “There are riots, roadblocks – basically everything is blocked. There’s no possibility of moving from place to place.”

“At the moment, regular flights have been stopped because of an attempt to take over the airport.”

Yael Haddad, who was traveling in Peru with a group of 35 Israelis, said: “We were staying in Cusco and went on a three-day trip to the Machu Picchu area.” Haddad described how they got stuck in the Machu Picchu area but eventually managed to arrive in the town of Aguas Calientes, where they are staying put for now. “The recommendation we received is to stay in this town because it is a very touristy place. In Cusco, there are a lot of Israelis in the hostels and there are really violent demonstrations. We received videos yesterday of burned shops and burning tires. It’s a real balagan.”

She said that for the time being they are stuck in the town: “We have no way to get out of here, all the roads are blocked. There are no cars or buses, and certainly not trains and flights. Last night we received a call and were told to go to the central square to sign up for an emergency train that may or may not leave.”

The Israelis are among thousands of tourists who are stuck in Peru. According to media reports, in Cusco alone, almost 800 tourists are stranded in the Machu Picchu region, the country’s most popular tourist attraction, after train services were suspended.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)