"Missing Mexican environmentalists’ families accuse mining company", 20 January 2023

...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...

At a press conference on Thursday, the sister of the missing lawyer, said: “We want to emphasise the possible responsibility of the mining company Ternium in ensuring that my brother Ricardo Lagunes and Professor Antonio Díaz reappear alive.

“The company is one of the most powerful actors in the region, and its operations have not only affected the environment but also the social fabric, generating conflicts and violence. The company has relations with different local groups and possibly with the perpetrators of this disappearance. We call for a full investigation, and for the company to support us to find my brother and Antonio alive,” said Lucía Lagunes Gasca.

“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.

Ternium Mexico, the mining company, denied any involvement.

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. Ternium is against any type of violence and categorically rejects any speculation and/or defamation that tries to associate it with any type of illegal activity. We always operate within the law and with a broad sense of social responsibility. Ternium is a leading public company in the manufacture of steel in Latin America, which operates transparently and under the highest standards of control in all its operations”...

Ternium Mexico is the local subsidiary of the Luxembourg-based steel group Ternium, which is part of the Italian-Argentinian group Techinta...