Life sentence for four murderers of environmental defender Roberto Pacheco in Madre de Dios
A Peruvian court sentenced four people to life imprisonment for the murder of environmental defender Roberto Pacheco in 2020. The crime occurred in Madre de Dios following a conflict over illegal logging.
Four sentenced to life for killing environmental defender in Peruvian Amazon
Peruvian justice imposed life sentences on four people for the murder of environmental defender Roberto Pacheco, which occurred on 10 September 2020 in the community of San Juan, in the Amazonian region of Madre de Dios, the Public Ministry reported on Tuesday, according to efe.com.
The convicted individuals are Hilario Mamani, intellectual author of the homicide, and Leónida Mujica, Rolando Becerra and Marwin Prinche, all members of the Association of Ecological Farmers Los Hijos de Madre de Dios. According to the prosecution, the latter three, together with Mamani, hired Venezuelan hitman Junior Ortega to execute Pacheco for 5,000 soles, equivalent to approximately 1,500 dollars.
Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Carlos Rodríguez argued that the crime occurred within the framework of a conflict over the defence of a forestry and reforestation concession. The victim's father, Demetrio Pacheco, was one of the concession holders for the area, and Roberto Pacheco was authorised to guard that zone against attempts at illegal occupation for logging purposes. Madre de Dios is a southern region bordering Brazil and Bolivia.
The prosecution was handled by the Third Supraprovincial Penal Prosecution Office Specialising in Human Rights and Terrorism.
The case is part of a broader pattern of violence against indigenous leaders and environmental defenders in Peru, linked to the advancement of illegal logging, illegal gold extraction and drug trafficking in the Amazon. The most affected regions are Ucayali, Loreto, San Martín and Madre de Dios.
Last August, a court of the National Superior Court sentenced four men to sentences of between 15 and 35 years in prison for the murder of indigenous leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado, who was killed in 2023 despite having state protection measures against threats from illegal logging mafias.
Source: Google News PE — Crime