Rodrigo Torres, a 22-year-old indigenous young man, was killed by four gendarmes last Thursday while transporting coca leaves in La Quiaca. Rodrigo, who resided in the Community of Barrancas in the Cochinoca department and worked as a bricklayer in the Jujuy Puna, was originally from the San Juan de Quillaques Community in the Susques Department.
According to his aunt, Aurora Choque, Rodrigo was only carrying coca leaves to share with others, but the gendarmes mistook him for a drug trafficker and shot him, resulting in his death. This tragic event adds to the murder of Fernando Gómez, another worker who fell victim to the militarization promoted by Minister Patricia Bullrich and the criminalization of coca leaves as a narcotic.
Rodrigo's family, who were in the countryside, were recently informed of the murder and expected to conduct the autopsy on Saturday. Coca leaves, considered sacred by indigenous peoples and used in cultural and spiritual practices, are a right guaranteed by the constitution and should not be unjustly criminalized.
Although the possession of coca leaves in their natural state is protected by Law 23737 of 1989, abuses often occur by security forces that seize quantities without justification. The gendarmes from squadron 21 who chased Rodrigo and shot him while he was riding his motorcycle are detained under investigation by order of the Public Ministry of Prosecution.