Photos by Rodrigo Abd
It was the second burial for the three members of the citizen self-defense force from this remote Andean village, who officials say died so that others might live.
The men were slain on June 14, 1990, investigators say, defending the 100 people who then inhabited Huallhua from an attack by Shining Path rebels with the only weapons at their disposal — rocks.
The villagers escaped, and the bodies of the three men, their throats slit and their skulls crushed, were promptly buried by grateful neighbors to save them from feral dogs.
This Oct. 29, 2014 photo shows the tomb of Felix Huaman after his burial at the cemetery in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Huaman’s remains were exhumed and handed over to relatives only recently, allowing them to bury him properly years after he was killed defending their town so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. Huaman was age 50. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Hundreds of such cases, most until now barely registered, are coming to light as forensic anthropologists methodically unearth victims of Peru’s 1980-2000 dirty war, absent government fanfare.
The Huallhua men’s remains were exhumed last year and positively identified.
Since 2006, authorities have dug up 2,925 sets of human remains of the 15,000 “disappeared” in the conflict, which a truth commission says claimed nearly 70,000 mostly civilian lives. The killers were primarily rebels and security force members.
The three men reburied last week — Nestor Curo, Felix Huaman and Narcizo Cusiche — were all army veterans. Huaman was age 50, the other two men were in their 20s.
Theirs were among 80 sets of recently exhumed human remains that prosecutors handed over to relatives last week in Huamanga, capital of Ayacucho state.
Relatives retrieved the simple white caskets of the three and traveled 12 hours in a minibus over bad roads to Huallhua, a piece of Ayahuanco district perched above a steep slope overlooking the Mantaro river.
In this Oct. 28, 2014 photo, switch-back roads cover the mountains above the Mantaro river in Ayahuanco, Peru. Though the Shining Path was defeated two decades ago, cocaine-funded rebel remnants continue to hound Peru’s security forces in the remote region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
After a candlelight vigil on a frigid highlands night at nearly 13,000 feet (3,900 meters), the coffins bearing the three men’s bones and clothing remnants were interred in the local cemetery on Wednesday.
Eight young soldiers wielding Galil rifles looked on in silence.
They are all posted to a nearby army base.
Though the Shining Path was defeated two decades ago, cocaine-funded rebel remnants continue to hound Peru’s security forces in the remote region.
Click on any image to launch the Peru’s Dirty War Victims gallery.
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, Gregoria Huaman poses for a portrait in her flower covered hat, common among women in the area, after burying her brother in law, Felix Huama, in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Felix Huaman and his brother-in-law Narcizo Cusiche were killed on June 14, 1990 while defending the town as members of the citizen self-defense force, so that villagers could escape from Shining Path militants, but their remains were only recently exhumed. Hundreds of such cases, most until now barely registered, are coming to light as forensic anthropologists methodically unearth victims of Peru’s 1980-2000 dirty war absent government fanfare. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, a woman walks with her pig and dogs in Ayahuanco region of Peru. Though the Shining Path was defeated two decades ago, cocaine-funded rebel remnants continue to hound Peru’s security forces in the remote region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 27, 2014 photo, Eusebia Palomino Arona, 88, right, and her son-in-law Victor Crisostomo, left, stand next to the coffins of Eusebia’s son, Nestor Curo Palomino, as they pose for a portrait to document the funeral after Mass in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Curo’s remains were exhumed last year and recently handed over to relatives, allowing them to bury him properly 24 years after he was killed on June 14, 1990 defending their town so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. He was in his 20s. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, a lamp shines inside the dirt floor home of the Huaman family where the coffins of Felix Huaman and his brother-in-law Narcizo Cusiche are placed for a one day wake, as is custom in Huallhua, Peru. Huaman and Cusiche were killed on June 14, 1990 defending the town as members of the citizen self-defense force so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants, but their remains were only recently exhumed. Hundreds of such cases, most until now barely registered, are coming to light as forensic anthropologists methodically unearth victims of Peru’s 1980-2000 dirty war absent government fanfare. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 28, 2014 photo, Elvira Huaman sits alone on the dirt floor of her family’s home, staring at the coffin of her father Felix Huaman and uncle Narciszo Cisuche, in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Felix and Narciszo were killed 24 years ago while defending their town so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. Their throats had been slit and their skulls crushed. However their remains were exhumed only last year and recently handed over to relatives. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 28, 2014 photo, tears run down Udilia Ciguria Curo’s face as she slowly inspect the remains of her brother Hector Curo Palomino during a one day candle lit wake inside the their home, as is local custom, in Huallhua, in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Curo was in his 20s when he was killed defending the town with two other members of the village’s citizen self-defense force so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants on June 14, 1990. His remains were only recently exhumed and handed over to relatives, allowing them to bury him properly 24 years later. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 28, 2014 photo, Victor Crisostomo, carries the remains of his brother-in-law Nestor Curo Palomino into his home for a one day wake in Huallhua, in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. The remains of Curo, who was in his 20s when he was killed defending the town with two other members of the village’s citizen self-defense force from Shining Path militants on June 14, 1990, were exhumed and handed over to relatives last week. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 28, 2014 photo, a government social worker carries balloons after a training course for young leaders in Ayahuanco, Peru. Though the Shining Path was defeated two decades ago, cocaine-funded rebel remnants continue to hound Peru’s security forces in the remote region. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, Belizario Toscano carries the coffin of his neighbor Narcizo Cusiche to his gravesite in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Felix was killed 24 years ago while defending their town with two other men, so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. However their remains were exhumed only last year and recently handed over to relatives. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, Dionisio Mulla digs a grave for his brother-in-law Felix Huaman in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Felix was killed 24 years ago while defending their town with two other men, so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. However their remains were exhumed only last year and recently handed over to relatives. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, soldiers rest as they provide security and watch the burial of three villagers in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. The three men being buried were killed 24 years ago while defending their town so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. However their remains were exhumed only last year and recently handed over to relatives. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
In this Oct. 29, 2014 photo, relatives and friends pay their final respects to three villagers who died defending their town in Huallhua in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Nestor Curo, Felix Huaman and Narcizo Cusiche were killed 24 years ago while defending their town so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants. However their remains were exhumed only last year and recently handed over to relatives. Huaman was age 50, the other two men were in their 20s. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
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Opening text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: 3 village defenders reburied in Peru, by Franklin Briceño.
Lead Image Caption: In this Oct. 28, 2014 photo, tears run down Udilia Ciguria Curo’s face as she slowly inspect the remains of her brother Hector Curo Palomino during a one day candle lit wake inside the their home, as is local custom, in Huallhua, in Peru’s Ayahuanco region. Curo was in his 20s when he was killed defending the town with two other members of the village’s citizen self-defense force so villagers could escape from Shining Path militants on June 14, 1990. His remains were only recently exhumed and handed over to relatives, allowing them to bury him properly 24 years later. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
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