“Land and water rights defender, Miguel López Vega, is detained”, 28^th January 2020

…Miguel López Vega is a Community Representative of the Nahua community of Santa María Zacatepec…and member of the People's Front in Defence of Land and Water of Puebla, Morelos and Tlaxcala (FPDTA-PMT). FPDTA-PMT works together with Nahua communities in the states of Morelos, Puebla and Tlaxcala to protect the rights of the 22 communities affected by several mega-development projects in the area…[H]e has worked to protect the Metlapanapa River - which is at risk of being contaminated by discharge of wastewater from the Huejotzingo Textile City industrial park…

Miguel López Vega was arrested…while he and fellow human rights defenders were leaving a meeting with Víctor Flores Báez, general director of the government of Puebla at the Government Directorate of the state of Puebla.  Upon leaving the Directorate of Government, agents from the office of the Attorney General of the State of Puebla asked the group of defenders for Miguel López Vega. The defender identified himself, and was arrested…

The human rights defender is charged with opposition to the execution of a public work, and attacks on general communication routes and transport facilities. He was denied bail because the judicial authorities of the state of Puebla maintained that he used or intended to use weapons and explosives in the crimes for which he was charged.

Front Line Defenders believes that this detention may be related to a broad strategy of intimidation and harassment against the defenders of the Community of Santa María Zacatepec in Juan C Bonilla, in relation for work protecting the Metlapanapa River…