PBI-Mexico expresses concern about threats against Nahua defender and FPDTA-MPT member Miryam Vargas Teutle
Video still: PBI-Mexico with Miryam Vargas Teutle, December 2023.
PBI-Mexico has posted:
“From @PBI_Mexico we express our concern about the threats against the defender and communicator Miriam Vargas Teutle, member of @fpdtampt [the Peoples Front in Defence of Land and Water in Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala] and Radio Cholollan. We call on the authorities to guarantee their protection and the exercise of their rights.”
PBI-Mexico shared this Article 19 alert that highlights:
“On April 1 and 2, photographs of journalist Miryam Vargas were posted on Facebook pages discrediting her work as a journalist and as a human rights defender. This smear campaign seeks to discredit the work that Miryam has done for many years and that has earned her recognition within and outside her community. In an interview with ARTICLE 19, the communicator and defender reported having received intimidating messages via WhatsApp from local authorities requesting her “right to reply” and stating that the members of the radio station “must pay for the radio space they use”, otherwise it will be taken away. In addition to this, the journalist points out the continuous presence of a patrol car parked in front of her house.
The facts described here occur after Vargas made public a citizen complaint about the alleged dispossession of land by the legal advisor of the local and municipal authorities.
These facts represent information of public relevance for the community and therefore are specially protected speech under Mexican and Inter-American standards of freedom of expression.
Therefore, ARTICLE 19 demands:
-That the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Puebla carry out the necessary investigations to clarify the origin of the cyber-bullying against journalist Miryam Vargas Teutle in order to apply the corresponding sanctions and guarantee the journalist’s right to a life free of violence.
-To the local authorities of Tlaxcalancingo and municipal authorities of Cholula to refrain from any practice that could violate the journalist’s right to freedom of expression and to defend her human rights.
-The Federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, of which the journalist is a beneficiary, to apply the necessary measures to guarantee the safety and integrity of Miryam and her colleagues at Cholollan Radio.”
On April 16, Frontline Defenders further noted:
“On 4 April 2025, journalist and WHRD [woman human rights defender] Miryam Vargas Teutle reported receiving intimidating messages and calls by local authorities of San Andrés Cholula, in the state of Puebla, as a reprisal for her community and journalistic work.
The messages and smear campaign against her come after a citizens complaint reported by radio programme Cholollan Radio, linked to a case of land dispossession, potentially involving a legal advisor to these authorities.
Front Line Defenders calls on the Mexican authorities to publicly condemn this intimidation and carry out an immediate, exhaustive and impartial investigation leading to accountability for those responsible.”
They have also noted:
“Miryam Vargas Teutle is a Nahua indigenous communicator and woman human rights defender from the Choluteca region. She is a member of the Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra y el Agua – Morelos, Puebla y Tlaxcala (FPDTA-MPT) where she has been working since 2010 in defence of the territory against the implementation of the energy mega-project Proyecto Integral Morelos. She is also the community journalist of radio program Cholollan Radio.”
Accompaniment
Peace Brigades International has accompanied the Peoples Front in Defence of Land and Water in Morelos, Puebla, Tlaxcala (FPDTA) since 2020.
0 Comments