Government Warning Canadians Not to Travel to Peru

Canadians are being advised to exercise a high degree of caution and avoid all non-essential travel to Peru.

This comes in the wake of 41-year-old Sebastian Paul Woodroffe’s death in the Peruvian Amazon. 

The Vancouver Island resident had traveled to Peru last week to study hallucinogenic medicine and become an addictions counsellor, according to his IndieGogo page.

Woodroffe is believed to have been studying with 81-year-old Olivia Arevalo, an Inidigenous healer of the Shipibo-Conibo tribe in the Ucayali region who was shot to death. Woodroffe was initially blamed for her death, according to the CBC.

Woodroffe was killed the same day. He is believed to have been lynched by a mob.

Police are investigating both deaths.

The Canadian government is advising residents to “exercise a high degree of caution in Peru to serious crime, as well as social conflicts and strikes that may occur across the country.”

“Avoid non-essential travel to the following areas due to terrorist and criminal activity,” reads a recent statement

• the districts of Kimbiri, Pichari and Vilcabamba in La Convención province in the department of Cuzco (the city of Cuzco and Machu Picchu are not affected)
• Huallaga and Tocache provinces in the department of San Martín
• the Upper Huallaga and Ene river valleys in the departments of Huánuco and San Martín
• Padre Abad province in the department of Ucayali
• Huacaybamba, Humalíes, Leoncio Prado and Marañón provinces in the department of Huánuco
• Concepción and Satipo provinces in the department of Junín
• Tayacaja province in the department of Huancavelica
• the districts of Abancay, Andahuaylas and Chincheros in the department of Apurímac
• Huanta and La Mar provinces, in the department of Ayacucho

Canadians are also advised to avoid non-essential travel to the border area with Colombia or Ecuador.

You can find more details on this advisory here.