Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Skip to main content

Colleagues demand justice for environmentalist slain near Mexico City

The sun rises on a smoggy morning in Mexico City, on March 31, 2022. (Marco Ugarte / AP) The sun rises on a smoggy morning in Mexico City, on March 31, 2022. (Marco Ugarte / AP)
Share
MEXICO CITY -

Academics and colleagues demanded an investigation Thursday into the slaying of Mexican researcher and environmentalist Alvaro Arvizu, who was killed with an axe or hatchet earlier this month.

Colleagues said the slaying appeared to be in retaliation for Arvizu's work defending forests and water resources in the mountains that ring Mexico City.

Official reports initially suggested he was killed during a robbery June 13 at an environmental educational centre where he worked near the Iztaccihuatl volcano, which is not far from the more famous Popocatepetl volcano.

Pedro Moctezuma, the founder of the environmental research and education centre where Arvizu worked, disputed that idea.

"We are certain that this was a planned, pre-meditated attack," said Moctezuma, who is now a reseacher at the Autonomous Metropolitan University, a public institution that finances the centre.

Two of Arvizu's colleagues were badly beaten in the incident. A state official has said the three attackers wanted money and arms, and took a small-caliber rifle that Arvizu used to kill gophers.

But colleagues dispute the idea it was a robbery, noting that valuable scientific equipment was not taken. The centre suffered robberies before, but colleagues said that would not explain the bloodthirsty nature of the attack.

The centre gives courses on composting and other agricultural techniques, but it is also involved in opposing excessive water use and timber extraction. Its phone and electricity lines were cut just before the attack.

A day before Arvizu was killed, another environmentalist who ran a similar centre nearby was also slain. That activist, Cuauhtemoc Marquez, a beekeeper, had also been active in campaigns against water pollution and extraction and had reported receiving threats.

The state official said Marquez was shot in an attempted robbery June 12 near his home.

The two killings were the latest in a string of slayings and disappearances that have made Mexico the deadliest place in the world for environmental and land defense activists. According to a , Mexico saw 54 activists killed in 2021, the highest number in the world.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Montérégie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.