LatinNews Daily - 17 August 2026

*Peru’s new President Keiko Fujimori has announced that her government will introduce a temporary fuel subsidy, amid protests in the Amazonian regions of Loreto and Ucayali against high fuel prices. Fujimori said that the subsidy, which will be targeted at transport workers, will ease the price of fuel by 15-20% and will also be available for river transport and motorcycle taxis. Fujimori said that the demands of protesting transport workers, who since 12 August have been blocking roads around the two main cities in the Peruvian Amazon, Iquitos (Loreto) and Pucallpa (Ucayali), are “absolutely fair” and that her government “will not have the habit of denying or overlooking problems”. She said that “even though the price rise is the product of conflict in the Middle East and obstacles preventing fuel from being distributed globally, as the government we are obliged to have answers when these external causes affect the economy and quality of life of our compatriots”.