Overview
- The killing, which occurred Sunday, August 23, involved 57-year-old Américo Pascuala Tomisha being shot during a territorial patrol after he confronted people allegedly extracting copaiba resin inside the Onconashari community.
- The Ministerio Público has opened an investigation into Pascuala's death but authorities have not publicly identified suspects or established the full circumstances of the confrontation.
- ORAU, AIDESEP and CNDDHH have demanded that the Fiscalía and the Policía Nacional enter the community to lift the body, carry out diligences, and provide protective measures for leaders and residents of Onconashari.
- Community leaders say repeated reports since 2020 about colonos and illegal extractors went unaddressed, and they link the case to criminal networks and transborder drug routes that make Yurúa a high-risk, low‑state‑presence zone.
- The killing fits a wider pattern of violence against environmental defenders in Peru, where indigenous organizations report dozens of murders since 2012, prompting calls for faster investigations, stronger protection protocols, and a sustained state presence.