Indigenous People Leader Tomas Rojo Reported Missing In Mexico

On Tuesday, Mexican human rights organizations condemned the disappearance of the social activist Tomas Rojo who is an outstanding representative of the Yaqui Indigenous people in the state of Sonora.

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Rojo's relatives explained that he disappeared on May 27 when he left his home to go for his routine walk. 

Members of the Yaqui community and federal security personnel conducted search operations in Vicam, where he was seen for the last time.

In 2012, Sonora's Yaqui activists led the so-called "War for Water", which was unleashed by the construction of the "Independence Aqueduct" promoted by Governor Guillermo Padres (2009-2015).

Rojo claimed that while Padres' administration extracted water from the Yaqui River to supply populated cities in Sonora, he had neglected other areas such as those inhabited by Indigenous people. 

Despite a suspension order from the Supreme Court, the Independence Aqueduct continues to supply water to Sonora's capital Hermosillo, where over 300,000 people live. 

"Rojo's disappearance is one more insult to the Yaqui Tribe. It is a new act of injustice that must be investigated until the whereabouts of the social fighter are found," stressed the Democracy, Alternative and Debate Foundation.