Maddie Schroeder took a five-day trek to Machu Picchu to go off the grid and get away from the world. Now, she can’t get back.
On the bus ride down the mountains, the Janesville native got cellphone service back and learned Peru was going into a national quarantine and closing its borders.
“It literally happened overnight,” Schroeder said. “One day we were fine. Everything was normal. The next day it was a lockdown, everyone was in masks, the stores were being raided.”
She wasn’t a naive spring breaker taking advantage of cheap flights. She was finishing a six-month internship program, running an after-school program for children in rural Cusco.
Schroeder is one of more than a thousand U.S. citizens stuck in Peru during the global coronavirus crisis with no escape in sight.
Her internship was supposed to end March 31. The Craig High School alumna had thought about staying in South America longer, but now she doesn’t have a choice.
“All transportation, domestic and international, is shut down,” Schroeder said. “When we absolutely need something essential, then we can go to the bank or to the supermarket. Besides that, all I can do is sit in my house and wait for airlines to open up, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen anytime soon.”
Schroeder said police in Cusco are enforcing a strict overnight curfew, even arresting people who are out between 8:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.
Her family reached out to U.S. Representative Bryan Steil’s office for help, and his constituent services representative Teresa Mora directed them to the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program, which connects foreign nationals with their nearest embassy.
Schroeder and her fellow Americans haven’t been able to make any contact with the U.S. consulate in Cusco. It’s closed as part of the coronavirus shutdown.
Representative Steil’s office followed up with a flight information letter from the embassy in Lima, which directs U.S. citizens stuck in Peru to contact the airlines’ customer service numbers.
“After explaining our situation, they basically said ‘Hold tight.'” Schroeder said. “That’s all I have. Just stay here and wait. Someone will get you out, eventually.”
Steil’s staff told Schroeder’s parents they’re hearing from many people stuck in a variety of countries, but his office was unable to provide the family an answer about why other countries have been able to get their citizens out but the United States hasn’t.
Israel arranged four flights to bring home more than 1,000 Israeli citizens from Peru. Mexico succeeded in its own efforts to bring home citizens stuck abroad.
The international shutdowns prompted nine Democratic representatives on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to send Secretary of State Michael Pompeo a letter on Wednesday expressing their concerns for the stranded citizens and the lack of support.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson sits on the committee but did not sign on to the letter.
The U.S. citizens stuck in Peru caught the attention of President Trump, who acknowledged the issue during his Thursday press conference.
“We’re trying to get them out,” Trump said. “They got caught. They were late with their flights. We gave them a period of time. They didn’t make it. But we’re looking to get them out, probably through the military.”
Trump clarified it would not be a military evacuation, and it was unclear what potential solution the federal government is working toward.
Schroeder has been frustrated by the lack of communication or concrete answers.
“We weren’t late to our flights. We just got stuck here because everything shut down so quickly,” Schroeder said. “I just hope people can understand where we’re coming from and contact our representatives to try to get us out.”
She’s thankful to have stable housing and access to food and water. An internet connection and Netflix are helping the days go by, and her family is doing what they can for her from Janesville.
She knows not every American stranded in Peru and other countries are quite as fortunate.
