The mayor of the province of Espinar, Oscar Mollohuanca, was arrested Wednesday after nearly 50 police officers, acting on a warrant, entered the municipal Town Hall.

The arrest was reported by Cusco department’s regional president, Jorge Acunio, who confirmed that the arrest took place while Mollohuanca held talks with provincial leaders.

Mollohuanca and other social leaders became targets of the provincial prosecutor after their participation in the region’s ongoing strike.

The prosecutor’s office noted that Mollohuanca was in charge of the settlers who clashed with police on Monday during a protest against the installation of the mining company, Xstrata, in Espinar.

The strike has led to two deaths and the declaration of a state of emergency, while local villagers contend the police are responsible for the deaths.

Further targeting the leaders of mining related strikes, the federal government’s emergency declaration has led to the arrest of Herbert Huaman, president for the Front for the Defence of Espinar.

Beyond the conflict in Espinar, an indefinite strike continues in the region of Cajamarca, where protesters are rejecting the installation of the Conga mining project.

Radical anti-mining leader Wilfredo Saavedra was arrested yesterday in Peru.

According to local media, Saavedra, president of the Environmental Defense Front of Cajamarca, was detained for his failure to respond to allegations of his involvement in acts of violence against the Conga mining project.

Saavedra was initially arrested in the southern Peruvian city of Tanca, and today was transferred to Cajamarca, where he will face charges from the Public Ministry.

Saavedra is one of the leading adversaries against the mega-mining project, and has invested millions of dollars in the cause. He was previously imprisoned for several years for his involvement in the extreme leftist group MRTA.

The Conga is dedicated to excavating the Yanacocha mine, the largest gold producer in South America. According to local reports, the mega-mining project plans to drain four lakes in the area to extract the product. Environmentalists charge that this will cause irreversible damage to the country’s ecosystem.

The Peruvian government supports the mining effort, which is considered the largest and most ambitious in the country.

Local news sources reported that a legion of Saavedra’s followers conducted a series of speeches at the Public Ministry of Cajamarca earlier today. They claimed that the environmental leader’s involvement in the the effort was arbitrary, and his detention was an act of political revenge.