NEWS RELEASE

Aidecobap supporters kidnapped PetroTal worker

PetroTal, operator of Block 95 (Loreto), informs the public opinion and the authorities of the following:

- A group of Aidecobap (Asociación Indígena de Desarrollo y Conservación del Bajo Puinahua) supporters today kidnapped Carlos Arbildo Valera (35), a PetroTal social manager from the San Carlos de Puinahua community. He was held against his will in the Plaza de Bretaña for two hours, in a flagrant violation of his human rights.

- PetroTal categorically rejects the humiliation suffered by our worker and demands that the authorities apply the law and punish those responsible for the kidnapping suffered by Arbildo Valera. 

- There is no justification whatsoever for the crimes that Aidecobap has been perpetrating against PetroTal and the people of the district as part of the illegal strike that began in the last days of May.

- We also express our rejection of the attack suffered by the district mayor of Puinahua, Giordano Mendoza. We call for calm and unity in the district.

- We alert the authorities that the climate of tension in the district is escalating dangerously due to the majority of the population's rejection of the Aidecobap blockade. There is a risk of clashes between the mestizo population and the association's supporters. 

- To date, Aidecobap is holding two oil convoys and holding the crew hostage. There are 14 people (eight Peruvians and six Brazilians) whose state of health is currently unknown. 

- PetroTal rejects any act of violence, wherever it comes from, and demands the authorities to intervene immediately to restore the rule of law and peace in the district. 

Lima, June 8, 2023.