Asháninka uprising at Puerto Bermúdez
In January 1990, approximately 2,500 armed Ashaninka took over Puerto Bermudez in response to the assassination of an Ashaninka leader by the MRTA, searching for suspected subversive collaborators. The uprising resulted in kidnappings, torture, rape and murder of settlers, causing the displacement of many families.
In the first days of January 1990, an undetermined number of Ashaninka, which according to the CVR report could have reached 2,500 natives, armed mostly with bows, arrows, and some hunting shotguns, took over the town of Puerto Bermudez. The Ashaninka people removed villagers from their homes in search of those they presumed had contact or links with MRTA subversives. The uprising was triggered by the previous assassination of an Ashaninka leader by the MRTA and a confrontation between the MRTA and the Army in December 1989. In a sort of settling of old scores, the uprising resulted in the kidnapping, torture, rape, detention and disappearance or murder of many settler villagers, causing many families to flee. On January 29, 1990, a large contingent of Asháninka also entered Ciudad Constitución, armed with bows, arrows and shotguns, always in search of presumed MRTA members.