Indigenous environmental activist killed in Peru
by AFP Staff Writers
Lima (AFP) Dec 18, 2023

An indigenous leader fighting against deforestation of the Amazon was killed in the jungle in eastern Peru, advocacy groups said Monday.

The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest said Benjamin Flores Rios, leader of the Kakataibo Indigenous community, was killed in the early hours of Monday at his home in the Ucayali region.

The group said that a week ago Rios had received death threats from coca farmers encroaching on the community's lands. Coca is the base ingredient for cocaine.

"Indigenous leaders are resisting the advance of drug traffickers who operate in their territories," Indigenous leader Herlin Odicio told reporters.

There has been an increase in recent years in crimes targeting Indigenous environmental activists in the Peruvian Amazon, a vast, remote area with a very limited state presence. Most such crimes go unpunished.

In November, another indigenous leader was killed for opposing illegal loggers in the country's north.

According to the National Human Rights Coordination Committee, at least 30 murders have been committed in the country against environmental activists and social leaders since the start of 2020.

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