Peru govt declares state of emergency

Castillo in detention

Judge Juan Checkley also ordered Castillo to remain in detention for another 48 hours.

Castillo said on social media that he would petition the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to "intercede".

The former schoolteacher was in power for only 17 months in the South American nation, which is prone to political instability and is now on its sixth president in six years.

His short period in office was marked by a power struggle with the opposition-dominated Congress, and six investigations into him and his family mainly for corruption.

Protesters have set up roadblocks in numerous regions.

The worst-hit areas are in the north and south, including the region of Cusco, a tourism lure that is home to the Machu Picchu Inca citadel and Peru's second city, Arequipa.

In Lima, dozens of demonstrators threw stones at the police on Tuesday evening as they tried to reach Congress, with police firing tear gas to disperse them.

Eight people, mostly teenagers, have died in clashes with the police, authorities said.

Indigenous and agrarian organizations called an indefinite strike to begin on Tuesday, forcing the train service between the city of Cusco and Machu Picchu to be suspended.

Officials said nearly 800 tourists of varying nationalities had become stranded in the town at the base of the mountain where Machu Picchu, the most important attraction in Peruvian tourism and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located.

"I was meant to leave Cusco yesterday by train and take a flight to Lima to go home, but now the situation is not clear," a Belgian tourist, who only gave his name as Walter, told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.

The train service that connects the famed Incan temple with Cusco is the only way to get to Machu Picchu.

The small town's mayor Darwin Baca called for humanitarian help from the government, seeking helicopters to help evacuate tourists from the United States, Mexico and Spain.

Agencies, Xinhua