Bolivian Police clash with protesters during a roadblock clearance operation in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on June 8. Photo by Jorge Abrego/EPA
June 16 (UPI) -- More than 5,000 cargo truck drivers are stranded on Bolivian highways, according to Bolivia's National Chamber of Transport. The transport operators were carrying goods when they were caught by roadblocks and protests staged by demonstrators seeking the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz.
Bolivia's Ombudsman's Office, the Red Cross and the Bolivian Catholic Church launched a humanitarian aid caravan Monday to assist the drivers, who have faced shortages of food, medicine and hygiene supplies for more than 40 days.
Among those affected are Claudio Arrúa Miranda, Braulio Ibarrola and Óscar Ibarrola, three Paraguayan truck drivers who remain stranded near the Peru-Bolivia border, about 87 miles from La Paz and at an altitude of 13,451 feet, amid a roadblock preventing them from continuing their journey back to Paraguay.
The drivers were returning from Lima with commercial cargo bound for Paraguay when they became trapped by road closures in Bolivia. Each truck is carrying about 26 tons of merchandise, including raw materials used in the production of footwear, fabrics and lubricants.
