The environmental defender and former leader of Valle de Tambo, Jaime De la Cruz Gallegos, was arrested by the police and transferred to the jail of the Judicial Power of Arequipa. The arrest is in response to the sentence of 12 years and 4 months in prison that was imposed on him for alleged crimes related to the protests against Southern's Tia Maria mining project in 2015. The sentence, for the crimes of rioting, hindering public services and rioting, was issued in January 2021 and was ratified by an appeals court in February 2022. The sentence was described as "unjust and unfounded" by more than 40 human rights and civil society organisations, which called for it to be suspended until it is reviewed in a second instance. Residents of the province of Islay have been protesting against Tia Maria for being a project that puts at risk more than 13,000 hectares of crops and the water resources of the Tambo Valley.

Related cases: Jaime de la Cruz, Jesús Mariano Cornejo Reynoso, Jesús Mariano Cornejo Reynoso