62
alpacas and 30 cows. For his part, Víctor Carhuapoma de la Cruz affirmed that “the house of
[his] sister [Mercedes Carhuapoma de la Cruz, wife of Marcelo Hilario Quispe,] was burned, [and]
that to date, her animals and belongings […]have not been restored, recognized or rebuilt.” 228
202. Furthermore, in Criminal Proceeding No. 42-06 before the National Criminal Chamber of
Peru, Oscar Gonzáles Carrera, a soldier who participated in Operation “Apolonia”, stated that
“[…] ronderos […] took […] approximately two hundred cattle, and they herded them and […]
arrived […] together with Lieutenant Javier Bendezú […] at the Churumayo bridge, with all the
livestock, which had been seized in Rodeo Pampa.” 229 He added that “the cattle were supposedly
seized from the terrorists, since […] they were in the habit of going to different villages and
stealing cattle, so they had been rounded up to be returned to their legitimate owners, and that
is what Lieutenant Javier Bendezú Vargas told me.” 230 Similarly, during the same proceeding, a
witness and alleged participant in the military operation, FPA, stated that “they […] took care of
the animals that were there, including llamas and sheep […]” owned by the villagers of the
peasant community of Santa Bárbara, while they took the detainees from that community to the
“Misteriosa” mine. 231 Based on these statements, in its judgment of February 9, 2012, the
National Criminal Chamber of Peru found it proven that “during the operation against the
inhabitants of Rodeo Pampa, various abuses were committed […] they set fire to some houses,
stole the animals, and deprived the victims of their liberty.” He added that “[…] during the
incursion into Rodeo Pampa, in addition to setting fire to the victims’ homes […] their belongings
were seized and taken to the military base at Lircay.” 232
203. These details are also consistent with the CVR’s Final Report, which indicates that “[…] in
the hamlet of Rodeo Pampa military personnel entered the two houses belonging to the Hilario
family […] and set fire to them; they returned hours later to take possession of a large number
of livestock, smaller animals and belongings of the detainees […].” 233
204. In view of the aforementioned testimonies, the determination of the facts by the National
Criminal Chamber of Peru in its judgment of February 9, 2012, as well as the findings of the
CVR, the Court considers it proven that military personnel involved in Operation “Apolonia”
burned the homes of the families of Hilario Quispe and Hilario Guillén and seized their livestock.
These acts are a violation of Article 21 of the American Convention, in relation to Article 1(1)
thereof, to the detriment of Francisco Hilario Torres, Dionicia Quispe Mallqui, Antonia Hilario
Quispe, Zenón Cirilo Osnayo Tunque, Yesenia Osnayo Hilario, Miriam Osnayo Hilario, Edith
Osnayo Hilario, Magdalena Hilario Quispe, Alex Jorge Hilario, Marcelo Hilario Quispe, Mercedes
Carhuapoma de la Cruz, Wilmer Hilario Carhuapoma, Ramón Hilario Morán, Dionicia Guillén
Riveros, Raúl Hilario Guillén and Héctor Hilario Guillén, who were living in the community at the
time of the facts (supra para. 84 a and b) and were unjustifiably deprived of their property.
205. Furthermore, in addition to being a violation of the right to the use and enjoyment of
property, the Court considers that the burning of the houses belonging to members of the Santa
Bárbara community by the Army constitutes an abusive and arbitrary interference in their private
life and home. The people who lost their homes also lost the place where they lived their private
lives. Consequently, the State also violated their right to not suffer arbitrary or abusive
interference in their private life and home, recognized in Article 11(2) of the American
228
5215)
Cf. Statement of Víctor Carhuapoma de la Cruz rendered by affidavit on January 9, 2015. (Evidence file, folio
229
Cf. Statement of Oscar Carrera Gonzáles of August 3, 2010 in Proceeding No. 42-06 of National Criminal
Chamber (evidence file 2903)
230
Cf. Statement of Oscar Carrera Gonzáles in Proceeding No. 42-06 of National Criminal Chamber. (evidence file,
folio 2927).
231
Cf. Statement of FPA in Proceeding No. 42-06 of National Criminal Chamber (evidence file, folio 2974).
232
Judgment of National Criminal Chamber of February 9, 2012. File No. 42-06 (evidence file, folios 4505 and 4506)
233
Final Report of the CVR of Peru, Volume VII, Chapter 2.50, page 544.