Two leaders from the Achuar indigenous communities of Peru will toured the US in late 2005 to gather support for their efforts to clean up contaminated areas of the Amazon jungle and protect their territories from further oil drilling. EarthRights International invited members of the public and press to meet these leaders, who come from some of the most traditional communities in the remote and diverse Amazon rainforest, on this unique advocacy trip to the U.S.

Andres Sandi, the President of the Federation of Native Communities of the Corrientes River, and Jorge Fachin, the President of the Federation of the Achuar Nation of Pastaza traveedl to Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles to meet with investors, activists, company officials, and journalists. Mr. Sandi, who represents the people of petroleum Lot 1 A-B, is calling for cleanup of Achuar territory that has been grossly contaminated by oil drilling by the California-based oil company, Occidental Petroleum (Oxy). Mr. Fachin, who represents the people of Lot 64, is calling for Oxy to respect his people’s decision to keep their territory free of oil drilling.

Their tour included a series of brownbag and panel discussions, and a screening of the documentary film "Death in Sión," which depicts the damage to indigenous communities and the environment caused by oil production in the Río Corrientes region in Perú. 

They were accompanied by Lily La Torre, a Peruvian lawyer and the Director of Racimos de Ungurahui, an advocacy organization that gives legal advice to indigenous groups. They were also accompanied by EarthRights International and Amazon Watch.