Overview

• Hipolito Quispe Huamán was shot dead Saturday night while driving on the Interoceanic Highway in the Madre de Dios region.
• Quispe Huamán served on the Tambopata National Reserve Management Committee and had actively opposed illegal mining, deforestation and land grabs.
• The Ministry of Justice has pledged legal support for Quispe Huamán’s family to ensure those responsible are held to account.
• Human rights groups including the National Coordinator for Human Rights condemned the killing and urged authorities to strengthen protections for environmental defenders.
• According to Global Witness, at least 54 land and environmental defenders have been killed in Peru since 2012, with more than half of the victims Indigenous and most cases remaining unsolved.