Canadian killed in Peru was suspect in murder of Indigenous elder: police

A statement from the Peruvian Interior Ministry says the country’s national police force discovered the body of Sebastian Paul Woodroffe in the Ucayali region, and his remains have been transferred to a morgue in Pucallpa.(Shutterstock)

A Canadian found dead in Peru was a suspect in the death of an Indigenous human rights defender, local police say.

A statement from the Peruvian Interior Ministry says the country’s national police force discovered the body of Sebastian Paul Woodroffe in the Ucayali region, and his remains have been transferred to a morgue in Pucallpa.

The government release says Woodroffe was the main suspect in the death of Olivia Arevalo Lomas, a human rights activist of the region’s Indigenous Shipibo-Konibo people. It says Woodroffe was killed by a mob.

Global Affairs Canada has confirmed that a Canadian killed in Peru was linked to the alleged assassination of Arevalo Lomas, and it’s providing consular assistance to the Canadian’s family.

The government also extended its condolences following Arevalo Lomas’s death.

Peru’s ombudsman has condemned the death of the Indigenous elder in a series of tweets, describing Arevalo Lomas as a champion of her people’s cultural rights.

The ombudsman says increased illegal activity is putting Indigenous people’s lives at risk.

A close family member of Woodroffe declined to comment on his death in a Facebook message to The Canadian Press.