Jose Chuquin

From Anabaptistwiki

Jose Chuquin (Colombia) was the very capable president of the Colombian Mennonite Church. He was also the director of World Vision Colombia. Jose was a very capable administrator. World Vision Colombia at the time of his administration had in access of 700 employees. Jose was also assisting to direct, with Norman Tattersall (Canada) the office in Lima, Peru. Both went down to Lima regularly to accompany that program during a time of leadership transition.

On May 25, 1991, Jose and Norman were on one of these administrative visits. My limited information indicates that as they approached the World Vision office in the morning of May 25, a motorcycle with two armed men came up to them and emptied their automatic guns into the bodies of Jose and Norman. Norman died immediately. Jose was taken to hospital with multiple bullets wounds (over 40, we were told), and he valiantly fought for this life. He was flown to the USA where he died in hospital a few days later.

As far as we know, this assassination was the result of World Vision’s work with indigenous cultures in Peru. It is likely that the gunmen were from the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) revolutionary group due to their perception that the work of introducing the Christian gospel into indigenous cultures was equivalent to the intentional destruction of indigenous realities. They opposed such a presence and, it is thought, is the reason they targeted these two administrators.

Submitted by Jack Sudermann