The ongoing dispute over access fees to the Rainbow Mountain in Cusco recently left one community member dead and three others injured in a brawl that occurred over the weekend between residents of Chillihuani, Llaqto, Paucarpata and Titanca, communities located in the district of Cusipata, province of Quispicanchi, department of Cusco.
Flavio Illatinco (45), leader of the Llaqto community, characterized by requesting the clarification of the access fee to the Mountain of Seven Colorsand the equal distribution among all the towns in the area, He was killed last Saturday night at the entrance to the tourist attraction, and his body was recovered by the police last Sunday.
After this event, the constant struggle between the inhabitants of Cusipata for the money earned from tickets to the Mountain of Seven Colors has been revealed even more, including the son of the victim. He accused the existence of a criminal organization made up of some community members.
“He was murdered by the community of Chillihuani, by the president of the community who has no transparency in the economic management of the Mountain of Seven Colors. In response to this, my father asked for equitable administration. There were always many attacks, people waited for them on the roads, they beat them. Faced with that dream he had, this Cecilio Noa, formed a criminal organization that ordered the killing of my father, (on Saturday) there were police in a van but they stoned them,” quoted, Ivcher Illatinco.
She then called on the authorities not to release the detainees accused of her father’s death. “My father has been tortured, he has been savagely stoned to death, I want to make sure that these murderers can be investigated sufficiently. I want justice and transparency in the process. I have siblings, we are four siblings and my mother is sick, he was the only breadwinner in the family.”he concluded.
PNP General Julio Becerra, head of the Cusco Police Region, confirmed to Mail There are 19 community members arrested after the incident, Most of them were arrested in the vicinity of the place where Flavio Illatinco’s body was found.
For the moment, those involved remain in the facilities of the Division of Criminal Investigation in Cuscoall of whom are giving their statements and passing the forensic medical examinations in accordance with the law, could be charged with qualified homicide, due to the fact that they acted with extreme ferocity and presumably out of greed.
MORE BEFORE
The Mountain of Seven Colors, nestled in the Vilcanota Mountain Range, Located southeast of the city of Cusco, it has become one of the main tourist attractions in the entire country, due to the formidable shapes, colors and landscapes that a visit to this site offers.
However, since its ‘discovery’ as a tourist site, Problems with its administration and the collection of income have been constant, Access was closed on several occasions, since the administration of the site falls entirely on the local community members, as it is an ‘ancestral territory’, and there were endless disputes over money.
It is in the midst of this panorama that the community members of Chillihuani and Llaqto, located in the district of Cusipata, province of Quispicanchi, were part of a working table with the Cusco authorities in order to put a stop to these disputes, table that finally broke, causing more disturbances among the residents.
Thus, on Sunday morning, the authorities of Cusipata, together with the Police and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, organized a search and rescue operation for four Llaqto community members who had been reported missing after a fight the day before.finally finding one of them dead and the other three wounded.
On this matter, from the Foreign Trade and Tourism Management of Cusco, Tour operators are urged not to send national or foreign tourists to the Rainbow Mountain through any of the accesses, either through Cusipata or Pitumarca, since the situation is unsustainable at the moment and the safety of visitors could be at risk.
