Peru has recovered more than 8,000 pieces of cultural heritage over the past seven years that were illegally smuggled abroad, according to a Peruvian Ministry of Culture official.
Blanca Alva Guerrero, head of the office tasked with protecting Peru's cultural heritage, said that the items would be worth in total around US$ 5 million on the black market.
The official praised the combined efforts of the Ministry of Culture, National Police and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in repatriating these objects, including colonial paintings and archaeological artifacts.
Official data shows that the United States, Spain, Germany and Italy were home to the highest number of archaeological pieces smuggled out of Peru, while colonial goods were mainly found in Europe.
Alva claimed that there is little security at some colonial-era churches in the country's provinces, and to make things worse, "their watchmen often don’t inform authorities of a theft."
"We often only find out about it when a piece is sold abroad. We didn’t even know that the piece had been stolen," she explained.
Alva added that customs and police have taken steps to tighten controls at the borders with Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile; however, "more funds and personnel are needed" to do a better job.
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Published: 3/22/2014