By El Molino News.
The family of Ricardo Lagunes Gasca and representatives of Antonio Díaz Valencia are in Washington from November 8 to the 11th of the same month to meet with authorities and the international diplomatic community to discuss the Forced disappearance of these two Mexicans for defending the environment and indigenous lands from mining development in the municipality of Aquila, Michoacán, Mexico.
Ricardo Lagunes Gasca, a human rights and indigenous territories lawyer, and Professor Antonio Díaz Valencia, leader of the Nahua indigenous community of San Miguel de Aquila, were victims of forced disappearance on January 15, 2023 for defending indigenous rights in the agrarian courts. They disappeared violently after participating in a community assembly where the steps to follow after winning the case were discussed. There are reports that both received threats from Ternium, the company that operates a large iron mine without taking into account the rights of indigenous people.
Since his disappearance, Ricardo's relatives have demanded a thorough investigation by Mexican and international bodies and a humanitarian recovery. They also obtained recommendations from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances, several United Nations Special Procedures and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Ana Lucía and Antoine Lagunes Gasca, Ricardo's siblings, will visit Washington DC for a meeting with the U.S. State Department's Environmental Defenders Working Group, a private audience with the Inter-American Commission, the Office of the High Commissioner, and the Mexican Government, as well as with several allies. They are seeking support from the international community and international organizations to advocate for the return of both defenders and to obtain international technical assistance in the search and investigation to seek their humanitarian recovery, find the truth, and seek justice in the case.
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