Carlos Infante: 'The Uchuraccay Massacre is a Terrible Blow to Journalists' Memory'

Journalist Carlos Infante's new book, "Estrategia militar, paramilitarismo y masacre en Uchuraccay," delves into one of Peru's most shocking events: the 1983 Uchuraccay massacre. On January 26, 1983, ten people, including eight journalists, a guide, and a local community member, were killed in the Uchuraccay community in Ayacucho. The journalists were en route to investigate the deaths of a group of hikers.

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At first it was an impediment due to the emotional burden. The proximity to the case from the link with my father did not allow me to see things clearly. But over time that closeness ended up being a plus.

The official account, presented by the Commission Investigadora del Caso Uchuraccay, popularly known as the Vargas Llosa Commission, concluded that the press members and their companions died due to confusion. However, Infante, whose father was one of the journalists killed, presents a different version of events, challenging the commission's findings.

Infante stated that while the emotional weight of his father's death initially presented an impediment to writing the book, his proximity to the case ultimately became an advantage. He believes that understanding the physical and emotional toll of reporting in such a tense environment in 1983 is something only a fellow journalist can truly grasp.

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The commission presided over by Mario Vargas Llosa basically obeyed a political decision. Since it was a political decision, the perspective was also going to be political, the intentions. That is why the report's outcome had a political bias.

The book aims to spark debate by questioning the official narrative. Infante suggests that the Vargas Llosa Commission's report, chaired by the future Nobel laureate, was influenced by political considerations. He points to photographic evidence that emerged months later, in May 1983, which he claims undermines the commission's idealist and politically biased account of the massacre.

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The commission's account falls apart due to a kind of miscalculation. That whole idealistic vision falls apart with the photos. The photos appear three or four months later, in May 83, and they practically distort it.