BRIEFS: Interior

Protesters close pan-american highway

V. De León/LA PRENSA

yesterday’s protest1080824

Arraiján residents blocked the Pan-American Highway yesterday for four hours to protest the government's inaction toward the community’s sewage problems.

Residents said they reached their breaking point when a septic tank started leaking, causing an unbearable stench.

Residents of the Barriada Dos Mil neighborhood also protested yesterday, complaining that the Ministerio de Obras Públicas (MOP) has failed to repairs streets in the community. Those residents closed Arraiján's main road.

Gustavo De León, a spokesman for the protesters, reported that work started on the streets in April, but crews have been idle for about three weeks, leaving the roads in a worse state than before the repairs began.