Don Julio Gualberto Garcia Agapito was a Peruvian environmentalist who was murdered on February 26, 2008 after reporting a shipment of illegally harvested mahogony in Peru. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Don Julio was Lieutenant Governor of the town of Alerta in the Tahuamanu Province of Madre de Dios, Peru. Alerta is a city in the Ucayali Region of Peru. It is located very close to the border with the Madre de Dios Region. Tahuamanu Province is the smallest of three provinces in the Madre de Dios Region of Peru. Madre de Dios is a region in southeastern Peru, bordering Brazil, Bolivia and the Peruvian regions of Puno, Cusco and
Life
Don Julio Garcia was a Brazil nut producer and local leader in Alerta, Peru. The Brazil nut ( Bertholletia excelsa) is a South American Tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially He was born in Iberia, a small city to the north along the Interoceanic Highway in Madre de Dios, Peru, in the MAP Region. The Interoceanic Highway or Trans-oceanic highway is an international transcontinental highway in Peru and Brazil that is under construction In 1984, he moved south to Alerta. He lived there with his wife and three young children. He was known as an energetic environmentalist in the community. Environmentalism is a broad philosophy and Social movement centered on a concern for the conservation and improvement of the environment. [1]
Murder of Don Julio
On February 26, 2008, Don Julio reported the trafficking of 34 logs of illegal mahogany to Peru's Natural Resource Management Agency, INRENA. The mahogany had been logged along the Peru-Bolivia border and driven to Alerta by Sr. The Republic of Bolivia (República de Bolivia) named after Simón Bolívar, is a Landlocked country in central South America. Amancion Jacinto Maque, approximately 27 years old and resident of a neighboring community, and driver Sr. Angel Vivanco Gonzales in a vehicle owned by Sra. Victoria Jacinto Maque and Raul Vargas. The truck was confiscated by a police officer in Alerta and driven to the local INRENA office. While Don Julio was in the office, Sr. Vivanco attempted to steal the mahogany-laden truck. [2] With an extra set of keys, he drove the truck off the property. The police official followed in his vehicle.
According to a witness account taken by the Human Rights Office of the Parochial Defense Council of Iberia (Defensoría Parroquial de Iberia), Sr. Jacinto entered the INRENA office and shot at Don Julio 10 times. Eight of the bullets hit their mark. Don Julio died instantly in front of two witness. Sr. Jacinto fled the premises and allegedly crossed the border into Peru. [3] He has not been seen since. Neither Sr. Vivanco nor Sra. Victoria Jacinto Maque has been charged with any crime.
The truck carrying illegal mahogany was eventually recaptured and the wood confiscated by INRENA.
Don Julio was 44 years old.
References
- A la memoria de Don Julio MAP Forum. 17 March 2008.
- Matan de 7 disparos a teniente gobernador, en Madre de Dios Cronica Viva. 28 February 2008.
- Peruvian Illegal Mahogany Taking Lives Amazonia. org. br. 20 March 2008.
- Amazon environmentalist gunned down in Peru Rhett A. Butler. Mongabay. com. 14 March 2008.
- Murder on the Resource Frontier Andrew Revkin. Dot Earth Blog @ New York Times. 17 March 2008.
- Amazon Disgrace Grist. org. 17 March 2008.
- Asesinan a teniente gobernador de siete disparos en Madre de Dios Andina. 28 February 2008.