Prensa Latina, Reuters and AFP
The newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, July 16, 2024, p. 24
Lima. Amazonian leader Mariano Isacama was murdered and his body showed signs of torture, the Inter-Ethnic Association of the Peruvian Rainforest (Aidesep) and the Kakataibo ethnic group reported yesterday.
The environmentalist, who opposes deforestation promoted by illegal coca growers, had been missing for three weeks. His colleagues say that the police reported the incident, but they did not act, so the community members themselves searched for him and found his body.
Willy Pino, representative of the Federation of Native Kakataibo Communities (Fenacoka), warned that they will arm themselves and defend themselves against coca growers linked to drug trafficking. The indigenous guard and Fenacoka are going to defend ourselves, since the State is not doing its job; the Kakataibo nation is going to start defending itself.he said. In December, Benjamin Flores Rios, also a Kakataibo leader, was killed.
According to Global Witness, at least 54 environmental activists have been killed in Peru since 2012, more than half of whom were indigenous.
We demand once again that the authorities carry out the corresponding investigations, because we need transparency in the information about this murder.declared Jamer López, from Aidesep. We suspect who tortured and murdered him.but The government has done nothing for the searchHerlin Odicio reported to the newspaper The RepublicOdicio pointed to drug trafficking allied with illegal mining and logging.
The law prevents Fujimori’s candidacy
On another note, the laws would bar former President Alberto Fujimori from running for president because he has been convicted of corruption and has not paid civil reparations worth the equivalent of $15 million.
His daughter Keiko announced the day before yesterday that he will run for president in 2026 for her party Fuerza Popular, but that possibility could be challenged by the electoral authority, since, in addition, the humanitarian pardon that was granted to him does not eliminate his convictions for contempt and corruption.
Fujimori, sentenced to 25 years in prison for two massacres during his government during the armed struggle against the Shining Path guerrillas, was released in December after 16 years in prison.