Public transport unions in Metropolitan Lima and Callao have announced a full service stoppage scheduled for Tuesday, August 25, in protest against a surge of violent crime targeting bus drivers, conductors, and transport executives.
The strike call was issued by the Unión Gremial de Lima-Callao, an alliance representing urban transit operators in Peru's capital region. Union leaders stated that the industrial action could be canceled before August 25 if the government grants an urgent audience to detail security measures against criminal gangs.
Transport representatives said they want to review the government's current security plan, evaluate its execution, and determine whether it incorporates proposals submitted by transport organizations. These measures aim to protect drivers, bus conductors, passengers, and company directors across the metropolitan area.
Extortion and violent attacks against transport workers
The announcement comes following a series of violent attacks against transit personnel during August. Among the cases highlighted by unions was the murder of 69-year-old Eugenio Benítez Tacanga, the general manager of Empresa de Transportes Corazón de Jesús de San Diego.
Benítez Tacanga was shot dead on August 6 in the northern Lima district of Los Olivos by attackers riding a motorcycle. His wife was also wounded during the assault.
Union officials asserted that these violent incidents form part of a broader wave of organized extortion and contract killings. They reported that protection fee collection, known locally as cupos, is placing severe financial pressure on transport companies and disrupting daily public transit services.
Lima, the capital of Peru, and the neighboring port city of Callao rely heavily on private bus companies and urban transit operators to move millions of commuters daily. In recent months, transport routes across the metropolitan region have faced growing threats from extortion networks operating in urban districts.
Demands for security and requests for government meeting
To combat the crime wave, transport unions have submitted specific proposals to authorities. They are requesting a reinforcement of specialized police units and prosecutors, stricter controls on communications originating from inside prisons, and an increased police presence along high-risk transit corridors and bus stops.
The Unión Gremial de Lima-Callao stated that it has repeatedly requested a formal audience with the President of the Republic, Keiko Sofía Fujimori Higuchi. However, union representatives indicated that no meeting has been granted by the executive branch to date.
Union leaders emphasized that the August 25 stoppage is intended as a pressure tactic to obtain concrete government action, but confirmed that the protest will be suspended if an effective working group is established beforehand. They maintained that any demonstration will remain peaceful and asked public transit users in Lima and Callao for understanding regarding the potential disruption to daily services.
