Struggle for peace
We are victims and we know what war is. We reaffirm ourselves as a territory of peace.
Our position
The Inga People of Villagarzón have lived through war in their territory. Our own law exists to ensure peace and coexistence in the territory. We reaffirm ourselves as a territory of peace. We demand the same of all armed actors, legal and illegal: respect for life, for our autonomy and for our territory.
We oppose the militarisation of the territory, fumigation and eradication carried out without respecting our autonomy. Our Mandate prohibits crops for illicit use in the territory (Suma Kausangapa, Mandate 18); that is why we ask that any intervention be coordinated with our authorities.
What we ask
- Respect for life, autonomy and self-government throughout the territory.
- That eradication and spraying operations, and the presence of the security forces in the territory, be coordinated in advance with our authorities and respect our autonomy and the constitutional precedents on consultation and participation.
Where it comes from
- The Mandate of the Elders Suma Kausangapa (2015) applies our own law to «administer justice, ensure peace and social coexistence in the ancestral territory».
- The same Mandate (Mandate 18) prohibits crops for illicit use within the territory: the decision is our own, not imposed.
- The Regulations of the Reserve prohibit monitoring and surveillance by external entities, companies and organisations.
- ACIMVIP intervened before the Constitutional Court in the review on prior consultation for the spraying programme.
- A journalist recorded that «militarisation and the prohibitions on free movement are other concerns of the communities» (Agenda Propia, 30 Nov. 2021).
Recognised by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace
On 14 January 2026, in Case 09, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace recognised the Inga People and their Ancestral Territory as victims of the armed conflict. It is the foundation of our struggle for peace: the war harmed people, communities and the territory.
The JEP accredited the Inga Indigenous People as a victim, in its capacity as a collective subject of rights (Auto SRVJJCP-001 of 2026, first operative paragraph).
The Ancestral Territory is recognised as a collective subject of rights. The Auto records that, for Indigenous Peoples, the territory is a living and sacred being, Alpa mamá for the Inga People (recitals 58 and 74).
The Ancestral Territory Nukanchipa Alpa Amukunapa Wasi Vida Maskarigridiru was accredited as a victim of the armed conflict (first operative paragraph), on the basis of Decree-Law 4633 of 2011: «for Indigenous Peoples the territory is a victim» (recital 74).
Read Auto SRVJJCP-001 of 2026 (PDF)Case 09 at the JEP →The recognition of the Ancestral Territory →