Venezuelan indigenous leaders who were opponents of armed groups and illegal mining were the capital of Amazonas, a non-governmental organization, and three knowledgeable people on Thursday. Was shot dead in. The case said.
Virgilio Trujillo Arana, a 38-year-old indigenous Uwottuja man, has set up a community group to act as a defender of the Amazon in Venezuela and a guardian of the Outtana municipality of Amazonas.
"In life, Trujillo Alana strongly opposed the existence of foreign groups and the exploitation of illegal mining in the territory of the Uwotuja indigenous peoples of the Altguayapo region," said the indigenous rights group A. CKapeKape writes on Twitter on Friday.
The Uwottuja community is made up of about 15,000 people.
Kape Kape Director Armando Obdola told Reuters that Trujillo has been threatened with his activities and his case reflects the killings of environmental and social activists in neighboring Colombia. rice field.
In February last year, the Uwottuja town community defended their territory from "quiet aggression" by criminal groups and refused to use land for illegal mining exploitation and illegal activities. Announced the decision to do.
"Virginio was accompanied by the army as a territorial guard during operations in areas with irregular groups," Obdora said, with other hidden guidance fearing their lives. He added that there was a person.
The Ministry of Communications and Information and the Public Prosecutor's Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Non-governmental organizations and UN reports condemned the existence of violent criminal groups controlling gold mines in the jungle.
Since 1989, mining in southern Venezuela's State of Amazonas has been banned. The state is not part of the so-called Arco Minero, an 111,000 square kilometer gold exploitation zone created by President Nicolas Maduro's government in 2016 by Decree. ..
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urges the government to carry out mining activities on a regular basis and ensure that they are carried out under international and environmental standards. Did.
The Los Andean University Working Group on Indigenous Peoples Calls for Investigation into the Killing of Trujillo, and Indigenous Peoples' Organizations So far Response from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the Protection Measures of Other Environmental Advocates Said not received.
