Witch Hunt Vol. I: The Banished of Balsapuerto

At the end of 2011, Peruvian national news reported a series of barbaric murders that took place deep in the Peruvian Amazon, in a region called Balsapuerto, home to the Shawi indigenous people. In the span of just ten months, 14 traditional Shawi healers had reportedly become victims of a wave of brutal killings.

According to local reports, the alleged orchestrator of these murders was the then acting mayor of Balsapuerto, Alfredo Torres Rucoba. Accused of carrying out a campaign of witch-hunt murders for political reasons, he and his brother Augusto earned the nickname "The Witch-Hunters." "The Banished of Balsapuerto" is an ongoing investigation into these deaths and the theories behind them, using a mix of on-site interviews, unpublished police and judicial materials, excerpts from local press coverage, as well as original photographs and illustrations.