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News > Latin America

Human Rights and Environmental Activist Killed in Mexico

  • Archive photo

    Archive photo | Photo: Reuters

Published 7 May 2017
Opinion

Local residents reported that the man was from the U.S. and was known for doing community work in defense of the rights of nature.

A human rights and ecology activist who is thought to have been from the United States, was murdered in Mexico's eastern state of Veracruz, according to local residents in one of the country's most violent areas.

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According to statements local residents provided to AFP, the victim was Gordon Strom, originally from the United States, who had been living in the Veracruz city of Teocelo for six years. Local people reported that he was working with the community on issues related to the environment and the defense of human rights.

The body of a man, who was called "the gringo" by locals, was found in a house in  Teocelo, in the center of the state, which borders the Gulf of Mexico.

A statement from the Veracruz prosecutor's office identified the victim with the acronym G.L.A.D. wihout giving more details regarding his nationality or immigration status. The statement reported that a male body was found with injuries identified as gunshot wounds in the skull.

AFP reported that one of the victim's coworkers found his body inside his house with signs of torture and that his vehicle had been stolen by the person who killed the activist, according to an anonymous testimony.

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Teocelo residents called for a march on Sunday to demand justice for the crime. The unidentified man is the first activist killed since Governor Miguel Angel Yunes took office in 2016. 

Veracruz has become one of the most violent states in Mexico, with several cases of disappearances and the murder of at least 17 journalists.

During the past administration, under PRI party Governor Javier Duarte — formerly a fugitive and now in custody — at least ten cases of murdered activists were reported and remain unsolved since 2010.

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