HRD Attack
Carlos Ernesto Choc Chub - Prensa Comunitaria
Sources
Carlos Ernesto Choc Chub is a journalist who has investigated topics of corruption in the private and public sector as well as human rights violations by companies and the government. On April 18th an unidentified individual broke into Choc’s home in El Estor, Izabal department, and stole his work equipment, including a camera and two cellphones, but did not take any money or anything else in the home. Choc believes that the attack was an attempt to intimidate him given his recent work looking into water shortages in the Izabal department in the context of Covid-19 and business activity in the region. “A close neighbor told me that many people knew I was working with this issue of water and that there were people interested in censoring that, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Choc told CPJ, citing government mandates for locals to use more water for cleaning in light of the pandemic. National and international organisations have linked the attacks Choc has received to his research into the social conflicts between fishermen in El Estor and the Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel nickle mine, owned by Solway Investment Group.