LIMA, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Shamans in Peru gathered for an annual New Year's ritual on Monday where they made predictions for the year to come, including illness for U.S. President Donald Trump and the downfall of Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro.
"The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill," Juan de Dios Garcia proclaimed as he gathered with other shamans on a beach in southern Lima, wearing colorful ponchos and sprinkling flowers on the sand.
The shamans carried large posters of world leaders, over which they crossed swords, burned incense and some of which they stomped on.
As well as Trump and Maduro, shamans waved posters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"We see Nicolas Maduro defeated," said Garcia. "Nicolas Maduro will flee Venezuela. He will not be captured."
Closer to home, Garcia predicted that Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, will emerge victorious in Peru's presidential election after three failed bids.
"The woman who dreams of ruling Peru, I have been able to see through the wachuma (ancestral plant) that Keiko Fujimori will be president in 2026," he said.
The shamans also foretold the end of Russia's war in Ukraine. "I see that the conflict will end, they will raise the flag of peace," Garcia predicted.
The ceremony is performed every year in late December. The shamans had previously predicted an end to the Ukraine war - in 2023.
(Reporting by Carlos Valdez and Anthony Marina; Writing by Marco Aquino and Sarah Morland; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
