the essential
In 1989, Pascal Moreno took part in an exploration of the source of the Amazon, in Peru, departing from Toulouse. Of the five adventurers, three of whom were based between the Pink City and the Pyrenees, only two returned. More than thirty years later, the man who divides his life between Tarn-et-Garonne and South America is trying to elucidate this mysterious disappearance.
He imagined himself sailing in the wake of reporter Philippe de Dieuleveult. Without considering for a second to what extent their epic would experience such an epilogue. In August 1989, Pacal Moreno took part in an exploration expedition on the Rio Marañón, the Peruvian source of the powerful Amazon River with four other French compatriots, bound for Iquitos, 1,800 km away. Only two of them returned home alive. For almost twenty years, the survivor Moreno carried out investigations into the disappearance of his three teammates, a tragic news item which made local and national news.
Repro DDM
After more than thirty years of being haunted by his own questions, the adopted Tarn-et-Garonnais has finally succeeded in exorcising his past by publishing an investigative book*.
DDM – MANUEL MASSIP
How were you approached for this exploration mission?
In 1989, I was working as a teacher at the Center for Resources, Expertise and Sports Performance (CREPS) in Toulouse and I met a gentleman who wanted to carry out an expedition on the first 1,500 kilometers of the Amazon, which was not had never been done. As a seasoned athlete, I joined this team without really knowing what I was getting myself into. Originally, Alain Rastoin was to direct a film for TF1 but due to lack of financing, this part was abandoned. At the time, we were under the influence of new explorers like Philippe de Dieuleveut and a dynamic of discovery of other worlds. But in terms of isolation and navigation techniques, the project was already oversized. This is how, after taking off from Blagnac, we arrived on August 15, 1989 in Lima, in a country at war without understanding the real mechanisms.
Also read:
Cursed mission in Peru: the expedition leader's camera found thirty years later
Did you feel any hostility from the start?
Yes. In particular, we were confronted with people who pointed their guns at our heads without us understanding why. We naively thought that our status as athletes protected us. It was the time of Shining Path, a far-left political movement that was subversive and at the peak of its growth. But to us, it was almost cinema. We were young, we had not understood the extent of corruption, attacks in cities and acts of terrorism. Then we quickly felt the opposition between the indigenous world and ours.
- DDM – MANUEL MASSIP
But you continued…
We went up to the springs with a vehicle then continued on foot before starting to navigate. But I realize more quickly than the others that we are not in Ariège or Tarn-et-Garonne. And that created tension between us because some of my teammates feared that I would derail the expedition. Then, after 3 or 400 km of rafting, Laurent Di Folco became very ill and I decided to return with him to Lima at the end of September. Arriving in France, we learned, on October 13 or 14, 1989, that three French people were missing in the Imazita region. I then contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to understand. And I was advised to go see a Peruvian who lived in Toulouse and who was close to the Shining Path.
A decisive meeting…
During the expedition to the Marañón, we crossed paths with a gold prospector who had been integrated into the team. And who disappeared like the others towards Pongo de Rentema, not far from Chipe. The man I went to see in France knew him very well since he was his childhood friend, whose name was Ramiro Sanchez Izquierdo. It's completely crazy: there are 36 million Peruvians and this man had grown up in the Cordilleras, one street from the man who had perished with my teammates. That's how he put me in touch with Ramiro Sanchez Isquierdo's brother. A month after the announcement of their disappearance, we set up a first expedition thanks to funding from the State and the Region. But the country was still too hot and I finally put this story on hold for 17 years.
Pascal Moreno
Pascal Moreno
Why do you delve into all this again so long later?
I think I suffered from survivor syndrome in a world that was a little too aggressive for me. My life has resulted from it since today, I work in Guyana. It irked me. So I got back in touch with Luis Sanchez Izquierdo, Ramiro's brother, and we went there. We were able to progress in the environment that we had explored in 1989 to the village of Chipe where we found the canoe. At the time, authorities had arrested a man who cited robbery as the motive for the crime, but I needed to go further. A doubt persisted.
Contact : lemytheassassin.fr
