![Puno: attack leaves losses of 200 tons of trout to aquaculture company Pisces [VIDEO]](https://latin-american.news/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Puno-attack-leaves-losses-of-200-tons-of-trout-to.png "Puno: attack leaves losses of 200 tons of trout to aquaculture company Pisces [VIDEO]")
The violence in Puno this time harmed the aquaculture producers. The ferocious attack was against the company Piscis (Piscifactorías Los Andes), last weekend, which involved a loss of 200 tons of trout for exportand, in addition, the physical injury to two security guards of said company, according to what the company informed Perú21.
The attack took place at the facilities of Piscifactorías Los Andes, in Charcas, district of Acora, in the province of Puno, at one o’clock in the morning on Saturday, February 18.
A group of as yet unidentified people attacked and beat the two company security guards in order to force their way into the facilities. This was commented by the company’s Operations Manager, Karl Berger, to this medium.
“The technicians, who are the residents of the operation, came to safety. And although there was a physical attack, the guards did not lose their lives, ”he commented.
After entering the place, the vandals set fire to part of the company’s property, focusing on the generator sets and some vehicles such as motorcycles, boats and even a laboratory where biological controls were carried out.
Added to this was damage to the breeding centers or fish farms, where the attackers entered and cut several nets, releasing a large part of the fish.
“We have the trout cage 700 meters from the shore and they went there and cut the nets. They dropped the product and stole the product. They have cut the networks so that the product is lost. All this has been more or less at one in the morning on Saturday, ”he said.
Although the material losses are still being estimated, what has most affected the company at a production level would be the loss of trout, since a large part of it had to be sent to other countries this year.
“On land we are talking about equipment, housing, and it is difficult to estimate them, but the most important thing that has been lost is the crop. All production has been lost, there are 200 tons of fish. If they are valued, we could talk about US$1.2 million approximately, which is an amount that is exported and that Puno is no longer exporting to markets such as Japan, Canada, ”he commented.
THREATS AND STOPS
Although the attack was unexpected, the truth is that the threats for not joining the strikes and roadblocks were something that had already been seen in the area. According to Berger, the current context of conflict and social upheaval would have served as a pretext for these people to commit the violent assault on the facilities.
After learning of the attack, says Berger, the company sought to approach the local police station, in Ancara, to file the complaint, but the road was closed due to the blockade.
“It is a road that goes from Ácora to the Charcas area; It is 40 minutes south of the city of Puno, on Lake Titicaca,” Berger said. The area he refers to is in the direction of Desaguadero, near Ilave.
“If you go from Puno to Desaguadero, the highway leaves (from the city) and passes through Ácora. And in Ácora there is a detour that takes you to Lake Titicaca and there you arrive at the Charcas area, which is where we are. That is the road that they block so that the police do not pass by, ”he specified.
REJECTION OF TRADE UNIONS
Several business associations, such as the National Fisheries Society (SNP), condemned the acts of violence.
“We urge our authorities to contribute to the investigations in order to identify and punish those responsible for what happened and thus prevent events such as those described from being repeated, which not only scare away private investment and affect the image of our country in the abroad, but, above all, they limit the generation of jobs, which is what Peruvians need to get out of the current crisis that we have been facing,” the SNP said in a statement.
A similar pronouncement was issued by ADEX, which required “the representatives of the Public Ministry to initiate proceedings together with the Police to locate those responsible for criminal acts, to whom the full weight of the law must fall.”
“The situation of violence in the south of the country only causes thousands of countless losses that harm the most vulnerable families and discourage national and foreign investment that generates opportunities and foreign currency necessary to reduce poverty and improve health and education infrastructure,” added the institution.
