"A tank destroying Entrance Gate 3 of San Marcos University (Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos) on January 21 has become a powerful image of the recent outbreak of violence in Peru. A contingent of police officers entered the university, which is the oldest university in the Americas, throwing tear gas bombs and arresting students and regional delegations that were staying peacefully in the university’s housing. The detainees—which included pregnant women and elderly people—travelled to Lima from other regions of Peru to exercise their right to protest. They did so despite acts of violent repression by the police in their home cities that have so far resulted in nearly sixty deaths and more than 1600 injured civilians."