A Guatemalan judge has ordered the oil palm company Reforestadora Palma de Petén S.A. (REPSA), to suspend operations at their Sayaxché palm plantation, pending an investigation into the environmental disaster in the Pasión River, which led to the death of millions of fish in May and June of 2015. The court’s September 17th order states that the firm must suspend operations for 6 months. The following day, workers from the REPSA plantation were informed that they would be laid off. The workers responded by taking to the streets in protest over the temporary closure of the company. Workers allegedly kidnapped three human rights defenders and community leaders, Lorenzo Perez, Manuel Pérez Ordoñe, and Hermalindo Asig, who had traveled to the town.  The three were subsequently released the following day.