Ashéninka leader killed while patrolling Indigenous territory in Peru

Ashéninka leader Américo Pascuala Tumisha was shot and killed on Sunday while patrolling Indigenous territory in Peru's Ucayali region, according to the Regional Organization AIDESEP Ucayali. He encountered people allegedly extracting copaiba oil without permission inside the Onconashari community's land, and a confrontation followed.

Reports of unauthorized copaiba extraction in the area date to at least 2020, with a 2023 nonprofit report documenting threats against residents who complained. Peru's Ucayali regional government formally recognized the community's forest surveillance committee in August 2025, giving members authority to patrol and report threats — authority that did not extend to protecting them.

AIDESEP says Pascuala had previously reported outsiders entering the territory but received no state response or protective measures. Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation, the latest in a pattern the organization says includes at least 38 Indigenous defenders killed in the Peruvian Amazon since 2014.

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