An indigenous leader and environmental activist was murdered by one or more gunmen in the Peruvian Amazon, while he was patrolling to protect his community’s lands, the Peruvian government announced yesterday, Tuesday.
The murder took place on Sunday in the department of Ucayali (in the east), on the border with Brazil, where other deadly attacks against indigenous communities have been reported.
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“The Ministry of Culture condemns the murder of the Aseninka indigenous leader (editor’s note: of the tribe) Americo Pascual Tomisa (…) while he was engaged in territorial defense activities,” according to a statement released via X.
According to ORAU, a coalition comprising some 20 indigenous organizations in Ucayali, the victim, aged 57, “suffered gunshot wounds” during an incident on his community’s land involving “third parties” who had gone to collect copaiba extract, a type of oily resin from Amazonian trees used in traditional medicine and for making varnish.
Since 2020, Americo Pascual had repeatedly denounced the presence of intruders on his community’s lands, according to ORAU.
This is a “cowardly murder,” and “what is happening in our Amazon must not go unpunished,” emphasized Erlin Odisio, vice president of ORAU, during a press conference.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office announced that it is conducting an investigation into “homicide” and has sent officials to the remote region of Yuruá, the scene of the crime.
Threats against leaders who denounce deforestation or the exploitation of forests have become alarmingly frequent in parts of Peru’s territory traversed by the Amazon.
On Monday, a Peruvian court convicted four individuals for the 2023 murder of Kinto Inuma, a leader of the Kichwa tribe, in the San Martín region of the Peruvian Amazon.
According to the NGO Global Witness, from 2012 to 2024, at least 62 environmental defenders were murdered in Peru, more than half of whom—35—belonged to indigenous peoples.
Source: KYPE
