In early February 2026 in Tonalá, Chiapas, Mexico, human rights defender Poulette Celene Hernández was subjected to two episodes of violent harassment and threats linked to her advocacy work in a tense local context. On 7 February, around 10 p.m., four men on two motorcycles arrived outside her home and threatened to return, creating an atmosphere of intimidation. The next day, 8 February at about 5 p.m., three people went to her house, insulted, threatened and physically assaulted her, constituting a direct attack on her safety.

These attacks occurred amid reported attempts at territorial dispossession associated with the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec — a major government infrastructure and trade project aimed at linking Mexico’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts through railways, ports and industrial development — a context where mobilisation and resistance to megaprojects have sparked conflicts over land, community rights and environmental impact.