Ayuuk environmental defender Arnoldo Nicolás Romero, an opponent of the Interoceanic megaproject, killed in Mexico
Photo: Arnoldo Nicolás Romero.
Mongabay reports: “Ayuuk leader Arnoldo Nicolás Romero, a municipal commissioner of the Buena Vista ejido in San Juan Guichicovi, a town and municipality in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, was found dead Jan. 21.”
El Universal highlights: ”Nicolás Romero was known for being a fierce detractor of the Interoceanic Train of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.”
The Mongabay article by Aimee Gabay continues: “His death points to an escalating crisis in the region, as Indigenous peoples face increased dispossession, criminalization and violence for defending their territories from extractive interests and destructive megaprojects. Since Mexico began to develop the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus Tehuantepec in 2019, a large railroad, highway and port project that runs through several Indigenous territories, including Romero’s, land defenders have faced fines and prison sentences and, in some cases, have been threatened or attacked.”
Carlos Beas Torres, a coordinator of the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI), told Mongabay: “It was apparently a direct attack because the body was found hidden among bushes about 50 meters [164 feet] from the road that connects the town of Buenavista with Santa Ana.”
The Indigenous Peoples Rights International-Core Group in Mexico has also explained: “In the municipality of San Juan Guichicovi [where Nicolás Romero was killed is] where the ‘Tierra y Libertad’ camp was set up as a protest against the human rights violations of the Interoceanic Train, this sit-in was evicted on April 28, 2023 by elements of the National Guard, the state police and the Secretariat of the Navy.”
That Core Group includes the Tlachinollan Mountain Human Rights Center, Community Technical Consulting (Contec), and Services for an Alternative Education A.C. (Educa Oaxaca), all associated with PBI-Mexico.
PBI-Mexico and international observation mission
The Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project took part in a Civilian International Observation Mission on July 25-27, 2023.
Video: A representative of PBI-Mexico (in green vest) speaks (starting at 35:26) at the observation mission media conference, July 27,2023.
At that time, El Universal Oaxaca reported: “The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT) project has been developed in Oaxaca through authoritarian methods that include cases of disappearance and forced displacement of indigenous communities, as well as a total of 226 attacks on community defenders including women and children, reveals the report of the Civilian International Observation Mission.”
Canadian links to this megaproject
The Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is a megaproject that has been described by a proponent as including “two deep sea ports, railroads, highways, three airports, a gas pipeline and a fiber optic network.”
Calgary-based TC Energy is building the Southeast Gateway pipeline that would connect to the gas pipeline noted above. The Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada is financing that will develop the associated LNG export terminal. And the Calgary-based railway company CPKC has been approached by the Mexican government to participate in the railroad aspect of the interoceanic megaproject.
Further research is needed to document and map the role Canadian companies and investment capital may be playing in this megaproject.
We continue to follow this.
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