Peru: Indigenous communities stand against drug violence - Video

In the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, a crisis is unfolding. Indigenous communities, who have long been the stewards of these rich and diverse lands, are now finding themselves on the front lines of a battle against drug trafficking.

The escalating violence reached a tragic peak with the recent assassination of their leader, Mariano Isacama, whose body was discovered over the weekend.

The Indigenous communities have issued a warning in response to this growing threat. They are prepared to take "justice" into their own hands, a clear sign of their determination to protect their people and their ancestral lands.

This declaration comes as a direct response to the relentless threats they face, even as they mourn the loss of their leader.

"But in reality, as soon as we are burying our brother and they are starting to threaten us again, we are unprotected. We want justice to do its job as it should be," says the president of an Indigenous women's community.

“We will not keep silent if justice does not do its job, it will be us with our wise men, with our ancestors to do justice with our own hands. Justice. We are already tired,” she added.

Her words echo the sentiments of many in these communities who feel abandoned and vulnerable in the face of such violence.

“We have our arrows, our spears with which we can patrol with what we do… There is information that comes through them where they say that it is going to be our turn. We are going to be the next victims,” a member of the indigenous community said.

Following a frightening home invasion in 2021 where a young indigenous mother with her infant daughter had been threatened by armed men, the leader of the Shipibo-Konibo community, along the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, enforced a three-month curfew, requiring women and children to sleep in the village hall and men to stand guard at night.