On 7 February 2019, the "Comité Municipal de Defensa de los Bienes Comunes y Públicos of Tocoa" denounced that defenders, raising concerns about companies in the extractive sector, in particular the Empresa Minera Inversiones los Pinares, have been targeted through a smear and harassment campaign. Some of the committee's most visible members, Juan López, Juana Esquivel, Adilia Castro, Esly Banegas, Gregorio Vásquez; Leonel George, Reynaldo Domínguez and other leaders of Guapinol have been victims of harassment on social media, most prominently on the “El Tocoeño del Alma” Facebook page.