UPDATE 1-Peru sends fuel as mining protests isolate cities

(Updates with strike declared illegal, paragraphs 7-8)

By Marco Aquino

LIMA, June 13 (Reuters) - Peru sent tanker ships carrying food and fuel on Friday to its southernmost province of Tacna, where thousands of people have been stranded by deepening protests over mining taxes in neighboring Moquegua province.

More than 5,000 residents of Moquegua have blocked roads, including Peru's main highway to Chile, and severed access to a mine and smelter of global mining company Southern Copper (PCU.N)(SPC.LM), the country's largest copper producer.

Participants in the blockades say their province deserves a larger share of taxes paid by the company, and have repeatedly rejected pleas by President Alan Garcia's chief of staff to negotiate an end to the stand-off.

The protests come as Garcia faces mounting pressure to quickly bring the benefits of an economic boom to the poor. Delays could erode support for his free-market programs and boost the prospects of a left-wing candidate in Peru's next presidential election in 2011.

"We are sending to Tacna, which sadly is isolated and lacking supplies, 9,000 gallons of gasoline and 50,000 gallons of diesel," said Jorge del Castillo, Garcia's chief of staff.

The protesters were not the only Peruvians demanding a bigger slice of an economic surge led by high prices for the silver, copper and zinc that Peru exports.

A strike at Peru's third-largest copper pit, Cerro Verde (CVE.LM), went into its fourth day on Friday, and a union leader said company officials would not talk to them about a settlement. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX.N), the mine's owner, has said production remains steady and on Friday told shareholders the government had declared the walkout illegal, meaning workers could lose their jobs if they do not return to work.