Mexico: Land defender José Ascensión Carrillo Vázquez murdered after opposing mining operations by Newmont subsidiary Peñasquito
José Ascensión Carrillo Vázquez, a defender of land and territory against the extractivism of the Peñasquito mining company, a subsidiary of Newmont, was murdered on 6 June 2021. The social activist and leader of the Transporters Union CAVA had been missing for a week. His body was found with visible traces of torture and the coup de grâce, along with eight other bodies on the Vanegas-San Tiburcio road, in Mazapil, Zacatecas, Mexico. A petition had been sent to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) in 2020, requesting precautionary measures to be granted to the social activist. In the face of the crime, local organisations asked the case to be dealt by the Attorney General's Office (FGR) and protection to be offered to the family of the defender, his work team and the people and inhabitants of Mazapil, who were fighting for their territory. We invited Newmont to comment on the case and the company did so.