Authorities in Mexico’s Jalisco state have announced the unfortunate discovery of the body of anti-mining activist Higinio Trinidad de la Cruz. The findings suggest that De la Cruz was murdered in an area located between the states of Jalisco and Colima, with his remains displaying a gunshot wound.
Higinio Trinidad de la Cruz was a renowned environmental defender from the indigenous community of Ayotitlán in Jalisco and served as a member of Jalisco’s State Indigenous Council. De la Cruz was prominently known for his resolute stance on exposing land dispossession caused by mining activities and illegal logging.
It’s worth noting that Mexico remains a hazardous environment for environmental defenders. According to Global Witness, 54 out of the 200 recorded environmental defender homicides worldwide in 2021 occurred in Mexico.
Furthermore, an annual report by the free speech group Article 19 detailed an escalation of harassment, intimidation and violence targeting Mexican journalists in 2022. This report outlined a worrying spate of 696 crimes against Mexican journalists in the same year. The primary aggressors were revealed to be state actors and security forces, who were responsible for over 40 percent of the aggression. Moreover, more than half of these incidents were related to reporters investigating corruption, underscoring a landscape replete with violence, intimidation, and harassment.