Saweto killings
- 4 people died.Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintisima and Francisco Pinedo, killed 1 September 2014.
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Four Asháninka leaders who opposed illegal logging on their land in Ucayali, Peru, were killed on 1 September 2014. Loggers were convicted in 2023 and again on retrial in 2024; the convictions were upheld in 2025, nine to eleven years after the killings.
1 September 2014 to the 2023 verdict and the August 2025 appeal, as counted in the sources reviewed; no intellectual authors were prosecuted.
Status As of August 2026: convictions of four loggers upheld on appeal (August 2025); two of those convicted were arrested in May and August 2026; no intellectual authors have been prosecuted.
- Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintisima and Francisco Pinedo — Killed on 1 September 2014.
What happened
On 1 September 2014 Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintisima and Francisco Pinedo were killed in Ucayali, Peru. They had opposed illegal logging on Asháninka land and were seeking a land title for the community of Saweto.
In February 2023 five people were convicted and sentenced to 28 years 3 months. The verdict was annulled for a procedural defect and the case was retried.
On 11 April 2024 four people were convicted again: the loggers Hugo Soria Flores, José Estrada Huayta, Segundo Atachi and Josimar Atachi.
In August 2025 the Ucayali Superior Court upheld the convictions and doubled the reparations to 400,000 soles, Andina reported. Global Witness reported the arrests of two of those convicted, José Estrada Huayta in May 2026 and Hugo Soria Flores on 18 August 2026.
The research counts nine to eleven years from the killings to the convictions. It records that no intellectual authors were prosecuted.
- 20141 September: Edwin Chota, Jorge Ríos, Leoncio Quintisima and Francisco Pinedo killed in Ucayali
- 2023February: five convicted, 28 years 3 months; verdict later annulled for a procedural defect and the case retried
- 202411 April: four convicted on retrial
- 2025August: Ucayali Superior Court upholds the convictions and doubles reparations to 400,000 soles
- 2026José Estrada Huayta arrested (May); Hugo Soria Flores arrested (18 August)
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- Five convicted in February 2023 (28 years 3 months); verdict annulled for a procedural defect; retrial.
- Four convicted again on 11 April 2024.
- The Ucayali Superior Court upheld the convictions and doubled reparations to 400,000 soles in August 2025.
- Two of those convicted were arrested in May and August 2026.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023-02Overturned on appealSaweto killings: first trialPeruvian court (not named in the source) · Criminal · Peruvian prosecution → Five people convicted (not named in the source)
Five people were convicted and sentenced to 28 years 3 months. The verdict was annulled for a procedural defect and the case retried.
- 2025-08Claimant wonPEN 400bn Reparations, doubled on appealSaweto killings: retrial and appealUcayali Superior Court (appeal) · Appeal · Peruvian prosecution → Hugo Soria Flores, José Estrada Huayta, Segundo Atachi, Josimar Atachi
Four loggers were convicted on 11 April 2024. In August 2025 the Ucayali Superior Court upheld the convictions and doubled the reparations to 400,000 soles. Andina's headline refers to 28-year prison sentences. Estrada was arrested in May 2026 and Soria on 18 August 2026. Andina
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record No intellectual authors of the killings have been prosecuted (the research records this).
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the Saweto community obtained its land title in 2015.
- Disputed Reports differ on the identity of one of the four convicted in 2024: some versions name a different individual in place of one of the four listed.
Did the harm stop?
Not recorded in the sources reviewed. The community's land title was reportedly obtained in 2015 (unverified).
Who paid?
Four community leaders were killed on 1 September 2014. The Ucayali Superior Court doubled the reparations to 400,000 soles in August 2025; payment is not recorded.
Sources
Press and investigations
Communities and civil society
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