This is what the U.S. Embassy says about security of Americans in Peru.What is the real story?
What are the real dangers?
Where are the safe places?
How much risk is there for expats?
The Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) terrorist group is still active, and sporadic incidents of Shining Path violence have occurred in the recent past in rural provinces of Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Huanuco, Junin and San Martin. The Shining Path has previously targeted U.S. interests and there are indications that it continues to do so. These have included attacks by large, heavily armed groups believed to be members of Shining Path on Peruvian army and police patrols in remote areas, as well as kidnappings of Peruvian and foreign aid workers. None of these incidents occurred in areas normally visited by tourists. Mining prospectors, adventure travelers and others considering travel to remote areas of Peru are strongly advised to contact the U.S. Embassy in Lima for current security information.
A peace treaty ending the Peru/Ecuador border conflict was signed on October 26, 1998. The Peruvian Government is working to remove mines and unexploded ordnance left over from the conflict, but crossing or approaching the Peru-Ecuador border anywhere except at official checkpoints can still be dangerous. The entire Peru/Colombia border area is very dangerous because of narcotics trafficking and the occasional incursions of armed guerrilla forces from Colombia into Peru’s remote areas.
The U.S. Embassy restricts travel of U.S. Government employees in the following areas, where terrorist groups and narcotics traffickers have recently resorted to violent actions, usually directed against local security forces, local government authorities, and some civilians. Overland travel in or near these areas, particularly at night, is risky.
Apart from the following list of locations restricted because of the danger from terrorist and narcotic groups, embassy employees are prohibited from nighttime overland travel anywhere outside of major urban areas because of the risks posed from robbery and unsafe road conditions. The only exception is that nighttime travel by commercial bus on the Pan-American Highway is permitted for official or personal travel. Road travel along this route, by means other than commercial bus service, and nighttime travel via commercial bus service along other routes anywhere in Peru, continues to be prohibited for embassy employees.
This list below is under continuous review, and travelers may contact the U.S. Embassy for updated information:
Ancash:
Restricted: Provinces of Pallasca, Corongo, and Sihuas.
Apurimac: Province of Chincheros.
Ayacucho:
Restricted: Provinces of La Mar and Huanta. Daylight road travel from Ayacucho to San Francisco.
Permitted: Daylight road travel from Ayacucho City to the city of Huanta. Staying within the city limits of Huanta. Daylight road travel from Pisco to Ayacucho City.
Cusco:
Restricted: 20-kilometer swath of territory contiguous to the Apurimac River and Ayacucho Department.
Permitted: Everywhere else including Machu Picchu area and city of Cusco.
Huancavelica:
Restricted: Provinces of Acobamba, Castrovirreyna, Churcampa, Huancavelica, Tayacaja.
Permitted: Staying within the city limits of Huancavelica City. Train travel from Huancayo to Huancavelica City. Daylight road travel from Pisco to Ayacucho City.
Huanuco:
Restricted: All areas. Road travel is no longer permitted in this department.
Permitted: Flying into and staying within the city limits of Huanuco and Tingo María.
Junin:
Restricted: Provinces of Satipo and Concepcion east of the Mantaro River.
Permitted: Daylight travel from La Merced to Satipo.
La Libertad:
Restricted: Provinces of Pataz and Sanchez Carrión.
Lambayeque:
Restricted: Lambayeque Province northeast of Olmos and east of the Pan-American Highway.
Permitted: Daytime road travel on the Pan-American Highway.
Loreto:
Restricted: 20-kilometer swath of territory contiguous to the Colombian border. Travel on the Putumayo River.
Pasco:
Restricted: Province of Oxapampa.
Permitted: Flying into and staying within the city limits of Ciudad Constitucion and Puerto Bermudez.
Piura:
Restricted: Province of Huancabamba south of Huancabamba City.
Permitted: Huancabamba City and areas to the north of the city.
San Martín:
Restricted: Provinces of Bellavista, Huallaga, Mariscal Caceres, and Tocache.
Permitted: Flying into and remaining within the city limits of Bellavista, Juanjui, Saposoa and Tocache. Daytime road travel from Tarapoto to Juanjui and Bellavista.
Ucayali:
Restricted: Provinces of Padre Abad and Coronel Portillo west of Pucallpa City and west of the Ucayali River. Road travel from Pucallpa to Aguaytia and all cities west of Aguaytia.
Permitted: Flying into and remaining within the city limits of Pucallpa. The province of Coronel Portillo east of the Ucayali River.
The Government of Peru has declared a state of emergency in the following districts/provinces, and the Embassy recommends avoiding these locations:
- Provinces Huanta and La Mar, in Ayacucho
- Province of Tayacaja, in Huancavelica
- Province of La Convención, in Cusco province
- Province of Satipo, in Junín
- District of Andamarca in the province of Concepción, in Junín
- District of Santo Domingo de Acobamba in the province of Huancayo, in Junín.
While the great majority of the approximately 200,000 Americans who visit Peru each year have very positive experiences, a small but growing number have been victims of serious crimes. The information below is intended to raise awareness of the potential for crime and suggest measures visitors can take to avoid becoming a victim.
Violent crime, including carjacking, assault, and armed robbery is common in Lima. Resistance to violent crime often provokes greater violence, while victims who do not resist usually do not suffer serious physical harm. "Express kidnappings," in which criminals kidnap victims and seek to obtain funds from their bank accounts via automatic teller machines, occur frequently. Thieves often smash car windows at traffic lights to grab jewelry, purses, backpacks, or other visible items from a car. This type of assault is common on main roads leading to Lima's Jorge Chavez International Airport, specifically along De la Marina and Faucett Avenues and Via de Evitamiento, but it can occur anywhere in congested traffic, particularly in downtown Lima. Travelers are encouraged to put all belongings, including purses, in the trunk of a car or taxi. Passengers who hail taxis on the street have been assaulted. Following the May 2003 armed robbery of a U.S. Embassy employee by a taxi driver, the Embassy’s Regional Security Officer advised all embassy personnel not to hail taxis on the street. It is safer to use telephone-dispatched radio taxis or car services associated with major hotels. Travelers should guard against the theft of luggage and other belongings, particularly U.S. passports, at the Lima airport.
Passengers arriving at Lima’s Jorge Chavez International Airport should be cautious in making arrangements for ground transportation. Upon exiting the airport, travelers may be approached by persons seeming to know them, or who claim that a pre-arranged taxi has been sent to take them to their hotel. Some travelers have been charged exorbitant rates or taken to marginal hotels in unsafe parts of town. Travelers who are not being met by a known party or by a reputable travel agent or hotel shuttle are advised to arrange for a taxi inside the airport. At least two taxi companies maintain counters inside the international arrival area (between immigration clearance and baggage claim). An additional two companies have agents at the information kiosk just before the exit from the passenger arrival area.
In downtown Lima and suburban areas frequented by tourists, the risk of street crime is high. American citizens traveling alone or in unescorted groups are more vulnerable to street crime. There is an increased level of criminal activity in Barranco, a popular Lima neighborhood. Visitors should avoid carrying unnecessary credit cards or ATM cards, and keep cash and ID in their front pockets.
Street crime is also prevalent in cities in Peru's interior, including Cusco, Arequipa, Puno and Juliaca, and pickpockets frequent the market areas in these cities. In Cusco and Arequipa, "chokehold" or "strangle" muggings are common. In the recent past, there have been a number of cases of armed robberies, rapes, other sexual assaults and attempted rapes of U.S. citizens and other foreign tourists in Arequipa and in Cusco city, as well as in the outlying areas in the vicinity of various Incan ruins. These assaults have occurred during both daylight hours and at night.
Some crimes in the city of Cusco and in Arequipa have involved the drivers of rogue (or unregistered) taxis. Travelers should use only licensed, registered taxis such as those available from taxi stands in Cusco displaying a blue decal issued by the municipal government on the windshield of the vehicle. Visitors should not accept offers of transportation or guide services from individuals seeking clients on the streets. In recent months there have been several reports of U.S. citizens being victimized by ‘express kidnappings’ in Arequipa after taking a taxi hailed on the street. On occasion, the victim has been bound, beaten, and held for over 24 hours as the assailants attempted to empty cash from bank accounts with the victim’s stolen ATM card.
Tourists should be particularly cautious when visiting the Sacsahuayman ruins outside of Cuzco. They should not travel alone, but do so in as large a group as possible. Visitors should also avoid these areas at dawn, dusk or night, since roving gangs are known to frequent these areas and prey on unsuspecting tourists. U.S. citizen backpackers have also been victims of armed robbery while hiking on trails other than the Inca Trail.
Peruvian law enforcement authorities have responded to rising crime by increasing the number of tourist police officers patrolling Cusco and its outskirts on horseback and motorcycles. The officers have been dispatched to bus and train terminals, taxi stands, automatic teller machine locations, and other sites frequented by tourists, such as discotheques, restaurants, and craft fairs and shops.
Crime also occurs on roads, particularly at night and outside of urban areas. Clandestine, impromptu roadblocks can appear on even major highways, where bus and automobile passengers are robbed. The risk is even greater on rural roads after dark. The U.S. Embassy prohibits its employees from road travel after dark outside of urban areas because of concerns about both crime and traffic safety, and all U.S. travelers are urged to follow the same guidelines. A number of Americans have been robbed on the road between Tarapoto and Yuriguaymas in recent months. In addition, numerous Americans have reported the theft of passports, cameras, and other valuables on overnight bus rides, by thieves who take advantage of sleeping passengers.
Pick pocketing and theft of luggage and passports from locked hotel rooms, rental cars, and restaurants have been reported by U.S. citizen travelers to Arequipa, Puno, and other destinations. In April 2003, two young foreign tourists, one a minor, were raped in the jungle in Ucayali province.
U.S. citizen visitors to Peru should immediately report any criminal activity perpetrated against them to the nearest police station or tourist police ("POLTUR") office. Immediate action may result in the capture of the thieves and the recovery of stolen property. U.S. citizens should also report crimes to the U.S. Embassy in Lima (telephones 434-3000 during business hours, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 434-3032 for after-hours emergencies if calling from within Lima; add the prefix 01 if calling from the provinces). Victims of crime in Cusco should contact the Consular Agent there (while in Cusco, telephone 84-9-62-1369; from Lima, callers must dial the prefix 084 for Cusco). The telephone number for POLTUR in Lima is 225-8698 or 225-8699; the fax number is 476-7708. There are also tourist police offices in 15 other cities, including all major tourist destinations, such as Cusco, Arequipa, and Puno. Tourists may register complaints on a 24-hour hotline provided by INDECOPI (National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property) by calling 224-7888 or 224-8600 while in Lima. Outside of Lima, callers should dial the prefix (01), then the aforementioned numbers, or call the toll-free number 0-800-42579 from any private telephone (the 800 number is not available from public payphones). The INDECOPI hotline will assist the caller in contacting the police to report a crime, but it is intended primarily to deal with non-emergency situations such as poor service from a travel agency or guide, lost property, or unfair charges.
