Peru sentences four people to life in prison for 2020 killing of environmental defender

Four people have received life sentences in Peru for the murder of environmental defender Roberto Pacheco, who was killed after confronting a group seeking to carry out logging activities in the Amazonian region of Madre de Dios.

The sentence covers alleged intellectual author Hilario Mamani, along with Leónida Mujica, Rolando Becerra and Marwin Prinche. Prosecutors said the three defendants belonged to the Los Hijos de Madre de Dios Ecological Farmers Association and hired Venezuelan hitman Junior Ortega to kill Pacheco for 5,000 soles, or $1,500.

According to prosecutor Carlos Rodríguez, the crime took place on Sept. 10, 2020, as Pacheco helped defend a reforestation concession in the community of San Juan. The concession belonged in part to his father, Demetrio Pacheco, while Roberto had authorization to protect the area against an attempted illegal occupation for logging.

The case was prosecuted by Peru's Third Supraprovincial Criminal Prosecutor's Office, which specializes in human rights and terrorism cases. Madre de Dios borders Brazil and Bolivia in southern Peru.

The prosecution linked attacks on Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders in Peru to the expansion of illegal activities in the Amazon, including logging, gold mining and drug trafficking. Such attacks are concentrated mainly in Ucayali, Loreto, San Martín and Madre de Dios. In August, a court sentenced four men to between 15 and 35 years in prison for the 2023 murder of Indigenous leader Quinto Inuma Alvarado, despite state protection measures issued after threats from illegal logging mafias.