Relatives of two missing Mexican environmentalists are pointing the finger at a transnational mining company which they claim is responsible for environmental destruction and violence in the rural community, and may have links to the criminals who abducted their loved ones.
“The hitmen were waiting for the right moment. They had threatened the teacher [Díaz] and the lawyer [Lagunes] in the past, and told us that there were five of us on their list. The hitmen were there watching on Sunday, they followed them on motorcycles and in cars and took them away,” said Miguel Jiménez a community member, whose name has been changed to protect him from reprisals.
“We believe that the company could be involved, and that’s why we are asking for the company to come clean; if they don’t have anything to hide they should say so,” said María de Jesús Lagunes, the missing lawyer’s aunt.In a statement, a spokesperson for the mining company said: “Ternium expresses its solidarity with the families of the missing men, and with community of Aquila … and hopes for swift clarification of the events.