| Quinto Inuma Alvarado | |
| Death Place: | Huimbayoc District, San Martín Province, Peru |
| Death Cause: | Assassination by gunshot |
| Apu of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu Indigenous Community | |
Quinto Inuma Alvarado (1973 – 29 November 2023) was a Kichwa tribal leader from Peru.[1] He was the apu of the indigenous community and one of the leading environmental defenders of the Department of San Martín.[2] He was assassinated in 2023.
Throughout his life, Inuma fought against the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest in the lands of the Quechua. He denounced illegal logging and drug trafficking and advocated for legal protection of the Lower Huallaga region. He faced threats from loggers and drug traffickers. The Peruvian State assumed responsibility for his defense, but lacked the necessary protections. On 29 November 2023, while returning home from an environmental conference in Pucallpa, Inuma was shot and killed.
From 2006 to 2014, Inuma worked as a park ranger at the Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (SERNANP), at Cordillera Azul National Park.[3]
In 2017, Quinto Inuma Alvarado became vice apu of the indigenous community, with his brother Manuel Inuma Alvarado serving as apu.[4] He frequently denounced the logging of tree species in the Huimbayoc area, which made him the target of threats and violence.[5] He advocated for the titling of his community and the preservation of forests in indigenous communities.[6]
In July 2021, he was beaten and received death threats for his forest activism. Representatives of the Tarapoto Provincial Office Specialized in Crimes of Illicit Drug Trafficking entered the community in response to complaints against illegal loggers and cocaleros.[7] Threats and actions against Inuma and his family increased. After the website disseminated images of the injuries inflicted on Inuma by cocaleros, he temporarily took refuge in Tarapoto to protect his and his family's safety. Despite the threats, Inuma chose to remain in his community. The same year, an article by the Forest Peoples Programme discussed this situation in Santa Rosillo and the nearby Anak Kurutuyacu community.[8]
On 15 November 2023, he addressed the Supraprovincial Criminal Prosecutor's Office Specialized in Human Rights and Interculturalism about residents of the area who had threatened him and assaulted an indigenous person. He was guaranteed measures of protection.[9] The Peruvian State assumed the responsibility of protecting him under the . This commitment was formalized by Directorial Resolution No. 003-2021-JUS/DGDH, which guaranteed his personal security. This mechanism included police surveillance and protection, which was not put into action.[10] [11] [12]
Inuma participated in a workshop of environmental defenders in Pucallpa from 23 to 27 November 2023. During this meeting, he said in one of his final statements:[13] Inuma was assassinated on the evening of 29 November 2023, while returning home from Pucallpa. He was shot three times.
He last saw his eldest son Kevin at 3 a. m., when he departed for Tarapoto through Huimbayoc District, where he arrived at 10 a. m. He arrived at the settlement of San José de Yanayacu, where he boarded a boat to his community. Six family members accompanied him on the trip, including his wife Bety Marlith Mandruma Flores, his second son Jeanpiere, his niece Axceldina Barbarán Tapullima, and his nephew Meister Inuma Pérez, who served as the vice apu.[14] [15] [16]
One and a half hours before arriving to the community, the boat was intrecepted near a creek called Bayada. Hooded individuals knocked down a tree to block the boat. Inuma, who had been driving the boat, stood up and analyzed how to avoid the obstacle, when he was shot three times. The bullet shells wounded Barbarán Tapullima in the leg, buttock, and rib. She and the other occupants returned home on horseback and carried Inuma's body.[17]
The Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest issued a statement condemning the assassination and demanding the Peruvian government to punish the assailants. It requested the implementation of mechanisms to defend those who protect their territories from criminal organizations. The issued a statement highlighting that Inuma had sought help from the government to defend against threats on his life, obtain the titling of his community, and stop illegal activities.[18]
Marisol García Apagueño, the president of the Federation of Indigenous Kechua Chazuta Amazonian Peoples, said in a statement:[19] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said:[20]
The investigation of the assassination was conducted by the of Alto Amazonas. The provincial prosecutor in charge is Berta Rengifo Vásquez.[21]
On 12 February 2024, at the Third Supraprovincial Prosecutor's Office Against Organized Crime, Genix Saboya Saboya confessed that he had shot Inuma in the back for a payment of 1000 soles from Segundo Villalobos Guevara, who Inuma had denounced for illegal logging in Santa Rosillo. Genix named his uncle, Belustiano Saboya Pisco, as the one who fatally shot Inuma in the head.[22]
At the for Climate Justice, celebrated in Cusco on 14 and 15 June 2024, Member of Congress, president of the, posthumously paid tribute to several environmental leaders, including Inuma.[23]