Environmentalists in Latin America Are More at Risk of Murder Than Any Other Region, New Report Shows

A new report by the advocacy group Global Witness revealed that environmentalists from Latin America were at risk of murder more than any other region.

The report noted that more environmentalists in the resource-rich region were killed last year, showing how activists in Latin America are facing more and more danger. According to the research, 75% of the 200 environmentalists killed worldwide in 2021 were from Latin America.

The total was below the 227 deaths recorded in 2020, but it showed an increase for countries like Mexico, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Peru, which together accounted for more than the total number of deaths, US News reported.

Countries in Latin America With the Most Number of Environmentalists Murdered

Last year, 54 environmentalists were killed in Mexico, the highest rate of any country. It was higher than the 30 reported deaths in 2020. Global Witness, an international group, said Colombia was second with 33 killings, followed by Brazil with 26 cases.

The report found that indigenous people were the target of more than 40% of deadly attacks, even though they only made up 5% of the world's population.

"These lethal attacks continue to take place in the context of a wider range of threats against defenders who are being targeted by the government, business and other non-state actors with violence, intimidation, smear campaigns, and criminalization," Global Witness said in its report.

Even though only two of the 45 murders of environmental activists have ended with a suspect being charged, preliminary investigations in Mexico have led federal officials to believe that local authorities are responsible for almost 40% of the murders.

Global Witness said that land disputes are the leading cause of many attacks. Some examples are resource exploitation, mining, logging, and industrial-scale farming, according to Nasdaq.

"This figure is likely to be higher as the reasons behind attacks on land and environmental defenders are often not properly investigated nor reported," the report noted.

Some of the Well-known Murdered Latin America Environmentalists

In April 2021, Jose Santos Isaac Chavez was shot and killed in the western state of Jalisco in Mexico. He was running for a local office, and his fight against a long-running mine was part of his campaign.

His car had been driven off a cliff just days before the election, and he was found dead in it. Armed men had taken him from his home and put him in his car. His body showed clear signs of torture.

Sandra Liliana Pea Chocue, an indigenous governor from southwest Colombia, fought to get rid of coca fields in Caldono, Cauca. However, armed people shot and killed her in April 2021. The United Nations, civil groups, and other countries have all spoken out against her killing.

Chief Brigadier Etienne Mutazimiza Kanyaruchinya, a 48-year-old conservation park ranger in Congo, was killed in November by 100 heavily armed men. The armed men, believed to be former M23 rebels, attacked a patrol post near the village of Bukima in North Kivu Province.

Global Witness urged governments to pass laws that protect activists and require informed consent from indigenous groups. The group also asked governments to hold corporations accountable for what they do worldwide and not let anyone hurt land defenders, PBS reported.

"Activists and communities play a crucial role as the first line of defense against ecological collapse, as well as being frontrunners in the campaign to prevent it," Global Witness CEO Mike Davis said in the report.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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