Don Julio Gualberto García Agapito (c. February 1, 1964 – February 26, 2008) was a Peruvian environmentalist who was murdered on February 26, 2008 after reporting a shipment of illegally harvested

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Don Julio was Lieutenant Governor of the town of

Alerta {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Alerta , other_name = , native_name = Alerta , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize = 300px , image_caption ...

in the Tahuamanu Province of Madre de Dios, Peru.

Life

Don Julio García was a

Brazil nut The Brazil nut (''Bertholletia excelsa'') is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and it is also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seeds. It is one of the largest and longest-lived trees in the Amazon rainforest. ...

producer and local leader in Alerta, Peru. He was born in Iberia, a small city to the north along the

Interoceanic Highway The Interoceanic Highway or Trans-oceanic highway is an international, transcontinental highway in Peru and Brazil that connects the two countries. It was completed in 2011, and runs east to west, spanning . It entailed the renovation and const ...

in Madre de Dios, Peru. In 1984, he moved south to Alerta. He lived there with his wife and three young children. He was known as an energetic

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

in the community.

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 Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

border and driven to Alerta by Sr. 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. 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 witnesses. Sr. Jacinto fled the premises and allegedly crossed the border into Peru.Amazonia.org.br
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

External links

Matan de 7 disparos a teniente gobernador, en Madre de Dios
Cronica Viva. 28 February 2008.

Rhett A. Butler. Mongabay.com. 14 March 2008.
Murder on the Resource Frontier
Andrew Revkin. Dot Earth Blog @ New York Times. 17 March 2008.
Asesinan a teniente gobernador de siete disparos en Madre de Dios
Andina. 28 February 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Agapito, Don Julio Garcia Peruvian environmentalists 2008 deaths 1964 births