Peru Investigation Wins Award

An IWPR-supported investigation into Peruvian drug gangs terrorising indigenous Amazonian communities has won a prestigious international award.

Death Flights in the Amazon won the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) Shining Light Award, a prize that honours watchdog investigations in developing or transitioning countries. 

The story – the result of a year-long data-gathering, analysis and on-the-ground reporting project – used an AI-powered search tool created by Earth Genome to find deforestation patterns. 

Journalists from Mongabay-Latam – a Spanish-language news service covering regional environmental issues – received the honour during a gala event at the 14th Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“We are very happy to have won this award,” Mongabay-Latam Managing Editor Alexa Velez. “Mainly, it helps us to spread the stories and voices of those currently under threat in the Amazon who urgently need the government's help. 

“This recognition comes at a time when Mongabay Latam is preparing to celebrate 10 years of work. Over the past decade, we have endeavoured to shine a spotlight on the devastating impact of environmental crimes, drug trafficking and organised crime on the Amazon, which has resulted in the deaths of numerous indigenous leaders without any perpetrators being brought to justice.”

The story, one of just four winners in a competition that attracted 410 entries from 97 countries, was part of an IWPR project providing Latin American journalists with training, financial resources and mentorship.

Focusing on three Peruvian regions — Ucayali, Huánuco, and Pasco — where 15 Indigenous leaders had been killed and where 28 more remained under threat, the team followed a rigorous verification process to identify 67 clandestine airstrips linked to drug trafficking, 30 of which were located within Indigenous territories. 

“We commend the quality and ambition of the reporting by this year’s awardees, investigative journalists who work in some of the most dangerous places in the world,” said Sheila Coronel, director of the Stabile Centre for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University, and convenor of the prize committee.

“They used data, documents, open source sleuthing, dogged field reporting, and creative storytelling to hold governments, armies, organised crime, and other bad actors accountable for the harm they have caused. They are shining examples of watchdog journalism, especially needed at a time when the press and democracy are under attack.”