Indigenous Ashaninka leader murdered in Peru's Ucayali region
Américo Pascual Tomisa, 57, was shot whilst patrolling to protect his community's lands. The public prosecutor is investigating the case as homicide.
Indigenous leader killed whilst guarding lands in the Peruvian Amazon
Ashaninka tribe leader Américo Pascual Tomisa, 57, was murdered on Sunday in Ucayali province, on the border between Peru and Brazil, whilst carrying out a patrol to protect his community's lands. The incident was reported by businessdaily.gr, citing an announcement from the Peruvian government.
According to the Ministry of Culture, the victim "was engaged in land-guarding activities" when he came under attack. ORAU, a coalition representing approximately 20 indigenous organisations in Ucayali, stated that Pascual Tomisa "sustained gunshot wounds" during an episode involving "third parties" who had entered the community's lands to harvest copaiba extract — an oily resin used in traditional medicine and the varnish industry.
ORAU vice-president Erlin Odisio called the attack a "cowardly murder" at a press conference, emphasising that "what is happening in our Amazon must not go unpunished". Pascual Tomisa himself had repeatedly reported, since 2020, the presence of trespassers on his community's lands.
The public prosecutor is conducting an investigation into homicide and has sent staff to the remote Yuruá region, where the crime was committed. This same region has a history of lethal attacks against indigenous communities.
On the same day, a Peruvian court convicted four individuals for the 2023 murder of Kinto Inuma, a Kichwa tribe leader in the San Martín region. According to the NGO Global Witness, between 2012 and 2024, at least 62 environmental defenders were murdered in Peru, of whom 35 belonged to indigenous peoples.
Source: Google News GR — Crime (el)