LIMA: An environmental activist fighting to protect the Amazon rainforest was fatally shot in Peru’s Madre de Dios region, authorities confirmed.
Hipolito Quispehuaman, a member of the Tambopata National Reserve Management Committee, was killed while driving along the Interoceanic Highway on Saturday night.
Local prosecutor Karen Torres stated, “This is a murder with a firearm of yet another defender of the Madre de Dios region.”
Investigators suspect the attack was retaliation for Quispehuaman’s advocacy work.
His brother, Angel Quispehuaman, pleaded for justice, saying, “This kind of thing cannot happen.”
Peru’s National Coordinator for Human Rights (CNDDHH) condemned the killing, urging the government to protect activists.
“Not one more death! Enough with the murders of human rights defenders!” the group posted on X.
The Ministry of Justice vowed to ensure the crime does not go unpunished.
Attacks on environmental activists have surged in Peru’s Amazon, where illegal mining and drug trafficking fuel deforestation.
In July 2024, Indigenous activist Mariano Isacama was murdered in Ucayali.
Since 2012, Global Witness reports at least 54 land defenders killed in Peru, over half Indigenous. – AFP
