Environmental Activist Shot Dead in Mexico, Third This Year
A well-known environmental activist was shot dead earlier this month in Mexico. His death marks the third activist killed in the country this year.
According to the UN office of the high commissioner for human rights, the activist, Adan Vez Lira, was riding his motorcycle in Actopan, Veracruz, when he was attacked.
Vez Lira was an avid supporter at the La Mancha Ecological Reserve. He also played a significant role in many environmental defense causes in the town.
Many remembered the activist as someone who was against mining. He strived to protect and preserve wetlands---including the reserve's tropical forest and coastal lagoons.
Vez Lira is the third known environmentalist killed in the country. Local officials reported three other activists that were murdered in early 2020.
Other Victims
In late March, unidentified shooters killed Isaac Medardo Herrera Aviles at his home. Authorities said the killers knocked on the door of his house, shot him, and ran away.
Aviles was a lawyer and an activist who was against the development of a rural tract near Cuernavaca. He led the four-year fight in a bid to stop companies from building a housing development in the local area.
Homero Gomez Gonzales--an environmentalist and defender of the Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve---was the first such death this year.
Authorities found his body two weeks after his family reported him missing. Investigators found his body at the bottom of a holding pond. An autopsy revealed he died from "mechanical asphyxiation by drowning of a person with head trauma."
Prosecutor found a second victim in the same week. Raul Hernandez Romero was reported missing a few days before authorities found his corpse. He was reportedly battered and bruised. His head also showed signs of trauma from a sharp object.
Criminal Activity
Mexico has become an increasingly dangerous place for environmental activists in the past few years.
The country holds many UNESCO World Heritage sites. The El Rosario sanctuary is home to a vast population of monarch butterflies. The same forests, however, have attracted illegal loggers and avocado farmers over the years, threatening the butterflies' habitat.
The National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM, released a warning in 2019 where they said the deforestation in the reserve puts the migration of the butterflies in danger.
A UNAM researcher said illegal activities such as logging and planting of wheat and other crops in the sanctuary destroys the natural vee=getation in the area. This includes the plants that the insects eat to live.
Each year, over 90 million Monarch butterflies journey from Southeastern Canada to central Mexico during the winter season. Their migration plays a crucial role in pollinating an assortment of plants over the 5,000 km route.
Drug cartels play a significant role in the death of environmentalists. Activists set up programs such as reforestation and patrol teams, hindering the cartels' activities.
Impunity in Mexico is widespread. In the state of Michoacan, where the reserve is located, only 3 percent of murder cases were solved.
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