A remote indigenous tribe kills two loggers who invaded their land in Peru

BOGOTA – Two loggers were killed with bows and arrows after allegedly trespassing on the land of the uncontacted indigenous Mashco Piro tribe deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a human rights group said.

The FENAMAD group defends the rights of Peru’s indigenous peoples. It believes that tensions between loggers and indigenous tribes are increasing and that more protective measures are needed from the government.

Two other loggers involved in the attack are missing and another is injured, FENAMAD said. Rescue operations are currently underway.

The human rights group, which represents 39 indigenous communities in the Cusco and Madre de Dios regions of southeastern Peru, said the incident occurred on August 29 in the Pariamanu River basin when loggers were expanding their passages into the forest and came into contact with the reclusive and famously territorial tribe.

“The Peruvian state has not taken preventive and protective measures to protect the lives and integrity of the workers who have been severely affected,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday. Authorities have not yet arrived in the area since the incident.

FENAMAD said the attack occurred just 25 kilometers from an incident in July, when the Mashco Piro again attacked loggers. The group said in its statement that despite alerting the government to the risk of increased violence, no action had been taken.

“The situation is heated and tense,” says Cesar Ipenza, an Amazon-based lawyer specializing in environmental law in Peru. “There is no doubt that tensions are increasing every day between the isolated indigenous peoples and the different activities in the territory through which they have always roamed.”

There have been several reports of conflict. In one incident in 2022, two loggers were shot with arrows while fishing, one of them fatally when they clashed with tribal members.

In January, Peru relaxed restrictions on deforestation, which critics dubbed an “anti-forest law.” Researchers have since warned that deforestation for agriculture is increasing and that it facilitates illegal logging and mining.

Ipenaza said that while authorities had made some efforts, such as providing a helicopter, overall there had been “little commitment” from Peru’s Ministry of Culture, which is responsible for protecting indigenous peoples.

The Ministry of Culture did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the attack and protection efforts on Wednesday.

The attack came a day before the Forest Stewardship Council suspended the sustainability certification of a logging company for eight months, with human rights groups and activists accusing the company of encroaching on the indigenous group’s land.

“It is absurd that certification bodies such as the FSC maintain certification of companies that clearly and openly violate basic human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples,” said Julia Urrunaga, director of the Environmental Investigation Agency’s Peru program. “It is terrible that people keep having to die and that it takes an international scandal for action to be taken.”

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