Clashes erupted Tuesday when Ecuadorian police cleared a highway blocked by Indigenous protesters over a rise in diesel costs.

Various roads leading to Otavalo city, northern Ecuador, were blocked by protesters from adjacent Indigenous communities since September.

John Reimberg, Ecuador's Minister of the Interior, said they cleared the roads to deliver aid to the city, and the force police used was justified after they were attacked by protesters.

Striking bus drivers and roadblocks by angry farmers in response to the government’s increase in diesel fuel costs have put Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa in one of the tensest moments of his presidency.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, the protests’ organizers, mobilized their people after Noboa decreed the elimination of a subsidy on diesel on Sept. 12.

Diesel is critical to the agricultural, fishing and transport sectors where many Indigenous people work.

The move raised the cost of a gallon of diesel to $2.80 from $1.80, which they said hit the poor hardest.

With no signs of dialogue after one month, one protester has been killed, numerous protesters and authorities injured, and more than 100 people arrested.