“The Jackals of Santa Rosillo” and the Murder of Apu Quinto Inuma: A Death That Could Have Been Prevented

65 days after the murder of Quinto Inuma Alvarado, apu of the Indigenous Kichwa community of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, the main suspects involved in the fateful event have been arrested in a joint effort between the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Peruvian National Police, following constant advocacy by relatives and leaders of the Kichwa people. The investigation has identified the presence of a criminal organisation known by the authorities as "Los chacales de Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu" (The Jackals of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu). Their dismantling will open the way to justice for the murder of Apu Quinto and the territorial struggle he was leading.

More than two months after the murder of the apu of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, members of the criminal organisation "Los chacales de Santa Rosillo" were arrested on 4 February this year, in a joint operation by the Third Supraprovincial Criminal Prosecutor's Office Specialising in Organised Crime of Lima and the Special Multidisciplinary Team of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Peruvian National Police (DIVINCRI).

This organisation, according to statements by the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Peruvian National Police, is reportedly made up of Limber Ríos Ruiz, Jerly Saboya Saboya, Genix Saboya Saboya Saboya, and the local authorities of the hamlet of Santa Rosillo, Segundo Jorge Ramírez Mandruma, lieutenant governor, and Julio Barbaran Ojanama, municipal agent. The fact that authorities from the hamlet of Santa Rosillo are implicated in the murder has caused surprise among the population and citizens in general.

In this sense, the alleged perpetrators may in fact be the same people who threatened and questioned the work of territorial defence carried out by apu Quinto during his lifetime, as there are several criminal proceedings underway against the detainees for destruction of forests (illegal logging) and favouring illicit drug trafficking, which has led the authorities of the justice system to conclude that there is a criminal organisation in the community.

It should also be emphasised that local authorities, in this case the lieutenant governor and municipal agent, are allegedly implicated in the murder, and this is highlighted by the fact that they,[i] together with Mr. Limber Ríos Ruiz, have at all times led the opposition to the recognition of the collective territorial rights of Santa Rosillo de Yanayacu, and are reportedly the main promoters of the illicit activities taking place in the Indigenous territory. Faced with the constant threats, apu Quinto, in interviews, reported the situations of risk that were occurring due to threats against him, despite the activation of the mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders. 

The circumstances surrounding the case of Santa Rosillo allow us to point out that illegal economies are hindering the self-determination and autonomy of Indigenous communities, taking over institutions in rural areas and authorities in hamlets or populated centres, as this would not be the first such case in San Martín.  

What is worrying is that, in July 2021, apu Quinto, in addition to obtaining a ministerial resolution from MINJUS in the framework of the Mechanism for human rights defenders, had personal guarantees against Julio Barbarán Ojanama, Limber Ríos Ruiz and Segundo Jorge Ramírez Mandruma, as can be seen in the Resolution Sub Prefectural District Nº 0031-2021-IN-VOI-DGIN/SD-T, granted by the Sub-prefecture of Tarapoto. This was because on 26 July 2021 he had been rescued with his family from his community, having been assaulted after an investigation by the Anti-Drugs Prosecutor's Office in the community in reprisal for the complaints he had lodged.

Quite apart from the reflections we may have regarding the effectiveness of the "novel" mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders, which, as we have already said in the case of apu Quinto, remained on paper, the authorities obliged to protect him only recently appeared after his murder. The painful feeling remains as to whether his death could have been avoided if only the Ministry of the Interior had provided the police protection he should have had since January 2021.

The presence of a criminal organisation in the community is now undoubtedly confirmed. Apu Quinto's denunciations and defence activities were extremely well-founded. For this reason, the investigations, as well as allowing for the identification of those responsible for the murder, should also permit the real dismantling of all the members of "the Jackals of Santa Rosillo", as the situation would keep the community at the mercy of those who head the mafias of illegal logging, drug trafficking and land trafficking.

Everything for which the apu Quinto fought tirelessly.

A separate reflection that emerges from the family's statements is the reparations that are due to Quinto Inuma's family, as it is clear that the murder took place despite the guarantees in his favour and in a context in which none of them were made effective, nor the police protection that he should have received in the framework of the mechanism for human rights defenders, as we pointed out in a previous publication.

 

"We are asking for life imprisonment. No one will be able to remedy this. A family has been left broken and homeless. If the State had acted in time, my father would not be dead. So far they haven't told us anything about reparations, we don't know anything about that", Kevin Inuma, in an interview with infobae.

 

The family, the community and the Kichwa people hope that the judicial system will respond quickly and clarify the responsibilities of the detainees and others involved. Furthermore, they hope that progress will be made to ensure that this crime does not go unpunished, starting with the imposition of the respective preventive prison sentences against those involved.

[i] See https://fondoperu.org.pe/por-que-no-duele-la-muerte-de-un-defensor-ambiental/