For other persons with the same or similar name, see Julio Garcia

Julio Garcia

Julio García or Julio Garcia may refer to:* Julio Acosta García , a president of Costa Rica* Julio A. Garcia , American attorney Julio Arnoldo Garcia* Julio César García, Mexican boxerThe name may also refer to:...

 disambiguation page.

Don Julio Gualberto Garcia Agapito was a Peruvian environmentalist who was murdered on February 26, 2008 after reporting a shipment of illegally harvested mahogony in Peru

Peru

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

. Don Julio was Lieutenant Governor of the town of Alerta

Alerta

Alerta is a city in the Ucayali Region of Peru. It is located very close to the border with the Madre de Dios Region. It is located 696 km from the regions capital, Pucallpa.It is served by the Alerta Airport....

 in the Tahuamanu Province

Tahuamanu Province

Tahuamanu Province is the smallest of three provinces in the Madre de Dios Region of Peru.-Political division:The province is divided into three districts, which are:* Iberia* Iñapari* Tahuamanu...

 of Madre de Dios

Madre de Dios Region

Madre de Dios is a region in southeastern Peru, bordering Brazil, Bolivia and the Peruvian regions of Puno, Cusco and Ucayali. Its capital is the city of Puerto Maldonado. The name of the region is a very common Spanish language designation for the Virgin Mary, literally meaning Mother of...

, Peru.

Life

Don Julio Garcia was a Brazil nut

Brazil Nut

The Brazil nut is a South American tree in the family Lecythidaceae, and also the name of the tree's commercially harvested edible seed.- Order :...

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

Interoceanic Highway

The Interoceanic Highway or Trans-oceanic highway is an international, transcontinental highway in Peru and Brazil that is conecting the two coutries . It entails the renovation and construction of roughly 2,600 kilometers of roads and 22 bridges...

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

Environmentalist

An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...

 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

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

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 witness. Sr. Jacinto fled the premises and allegedly crossed the border into Peru. 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.