Guatemala: Another Environmental Activist Shot to Death

Source: Telesur

Guatemala: Another Environmental Activist Shot to Death
Published 19 March 2016 (8 hours 24 minutes ago)



Guatemalan Environmentalist, Walter Mendez, was killed March 16, 2016. | Photo: Acofop

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Rights organizations in Guatemala condemned the killing of Walter Mendez Barrios, a prominent activist fighting against deforestation and hydroelectric projects in the Central American country.

Mendez, leader of the Association of Forest Communities of Peten, was found dead Wednesday on his property “with several shots” in the body, said the NGO in a statement released Friday.

“As a result of the causes he defended, he had been receiving death threats from the illegal land invaders who he had publicly denounced. In addition, it was part of the Petenero Front against Dams, which opposes the creation of hydroelectric projects in the Usumacinta River,” said the statement.

Mendez's ACOFOP is an organization that represents several communities who live in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which lies in the north of Guatemala. It receives grants for sustainable forest development, and as a result its members actively fight against development projects that would damage the environment.

Read more: http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Guatemala-Another-Environmental-Activist-Shot-to-Death-20160319-0021.html