A wide strip of land cuts through the dense Amazon canopy in Peru’s Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve as shown by a photograph taken during a flyover on March 15, 2024. The images provide evidence of a clandestine landing strip in the middle of a protected area for tribes living in voluntary isolation. Established in 2021, the reserve is now “by far the most invaded Indigenous territory in the entire country,” according to Julio Cusurichi, a member of the Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest (AIDESEP). The March flyover across the northern and southern sectors of the reserve also observed additional slashes through the thick rainforest, as well as large quantities of illicit coca crops, confirming that large-scale drug trafficking is occurring inside the reserve. A deforested area in the southern sector of the Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve. Image courtesy of AIDESEP. “It’s very concerning because this territory is for protecting our communities in isolation; at the same time, it’s terrifying to see that drug trafficking is unstoppable,” said an Indigenous leader with the Native Federation of Kakataibo Communities (FENACOKA), who participated in the flyover and is not being named for their safety. “The more we report, the more they accelerate and advance.” The flyover was organized by AIDESEP, together with Indigenous leaders from FENACOKA and representatives from Peru’s Ministry of Culture. The Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve was established in July 2021. Images of devastation The flyover took a closer look at 12 locations identified by satellite mapping in May 2023,…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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