Testimonies from the victims - october 2003

Eva Mollericono, mother of Alex Llusco Mollericono

Alex was shot and killed at 6pm on October 11, 2003.

“What did my son have to do with this?? He was innocent, he was only 5 and they killed him.”

We heard shooting and saw a group of military near the bridge by my house. We went up on the second floor balcony to see what all the shooting was about. In an instant they shot at us and my son fell down dead. He was shot in the mouth…he died instantly.

The bullet went in through his mouth and came out his head. What did my son have to do with this?? He was innocent, he was only 5 and they killed him. The impact of all this was horrible. The neighbours all came to my house, I was scared. The press came and took us to the clinic but my son was already dead. We took his body to the group by the bridge who had shot him and we showed them, “Look what you have done, “ but they took up their arms and told us to get lost. They would have shot us. They had no mercy.

He would have started school the next year (2004). He was five. I am a single mother and make my living selling baked goods. He was my reason to live, but now I am alone without a reason to be. It is very difficult for me now. But I won’t negotiate his life. I am fighting for justice. We buried him on October 14. I still owe money to the funeral home.

Picture: Alex Llusco Mollericono

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Filomena León Mendoza

Señora León was shot on October 15^th and died of a lethal infection on April 30, 2004. This testimony was taken 10 days before she died. She was the  mother of 6 children, ages 2 to 12.

We were in Patacamaya at 11 in the morning in the first group, el Salvador. I don’t know how they surprised us as we were getting ready to get out of the car to get some tea. [The soldiers] were gassing us so we stayed in the vehicle. Suddenly from above we heard “Get down you shits!  If you don’t get out we will kill you.” So we got out of the car and down on the ground and the soldiers screamed, “Put your hands up!!” Then they searched us, the five of us, four women and one man. That is when I felt the bullet and I never got up again.

 I was in front of the soldiers and they shot me in the back. I vomited and passed out and I don’t remember anything else. The people from human rights took me to Hospital Obrero because you couldn’t get through on the other side. After that I just wanted to die. I didn’t want to live any longer. I say to the government that since they ordered the soldiers, they should help me I have lots of children, that is what I want.

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Nestor Salinas, brother of David Salinas Mallea

David was shot on October 11, 2003. He died on Oct 19 after undergoing two surgeries.

David was shot in El Alto on Saturday, October 11, 2003 when he went out to look for his little brother, Raul (13). The neighbors had last seen Raul playing in the street near the protests, where the military had begun to shoot at people. On the way to find his little brother, David came across a person who had been seriously wounded and was lying in the street.  As David stooped down to help the person he felt a searing pain in his buttocks. “I grasped my buttock and it was full of blood, my leg was not working and I fell.  From there I don’t remember….”

The bullet had entered David’s abdomen and exited through his buttock. There were no doctors or anaesthesia in the local clinic so David and his family had to wait until the following day for the operation. When they finally operated, the doctors discovered that his intestines had been ruptured, leading to the release of fecal material into other parts of his body. A serious infection was quickly spreading. The doctors operated a second time, on Oct. 15, and from that moment on David never spoke again. He died on October 19.

There were no ambulances available. Wounded were rushed to hospital any way they could be