Public buses came to a near halt Monday in Peru's capital after some transport union members and workers halted activities to protest rising extortions.

Convoys of empty buses carrying signs demanding “no more deaths” and portraits of transport workers killed by extortionists lined some of the streets in Peru's capital.

The strike prompted classes to be suspended for over 2 million schoolchildren, and thousands of Peruvians fought to board the few buses that did not participate in the strike.

This is the ninth transport strike since January in the sector hardest hit by crime in a country plagued by extortion.

Since the beginning of the year, 180 transport workers have been murdered, including bus drivers, minibus drivers, motorcycle taxi drivers, taxi drivers, and fare collectors, according to official data compiled by the Crime and Violence Observatory, an initiative of the consulting firm Capital Humano y Social and Banco de Crédito.

In addition to murders, between January and August, Peru recorded more than 150 intentional explosions involving dynamite, grenades, or incendiary bombs thrown by extortionists at homes, various businesses, and even a prosecutor's office, according to data from the Crime and Violence Observatory.

President Dina Boluarte, during an operation to block illegal cell phones, said that she was working “tirelessly” to improve security and told transport workers that a 24- or 48-hour strike would not solve the problem.

She also asked transport workers to not open extortion messages and to report them to the police.

According to official data, there were 18,385 reports of extortion between January and August, representing an increase of 29.3% over the same period in 2024. Between January and August, there were 1,511 murders, 13% more than in the same period in 2024.

AP video by Mauricio Muñoz, Franklin Briceño and Cesar Barreto.