Mexican environmental defender Suástegui Muñoz who opposed the CFE La Parota dam and challenged the Navy-backed Maribús project is killed
The Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre has posted on social media: “After Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz, historical leader of CECOP, was attacked by a gunman when he was leaving Icacos beach, today we unfortunately received the news that he lost his life, after 8 days in the hospital in Acapulco trying to survive.”
Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz died on Friday April 25 after being shot as many as eight times on Good Friday April 18 as he was finishing work as a tourist service provider on Icacos beach in the Costa Azul subdivision of the city of Acapulco, Guerrero.
Now, La Jornada reports that the burial of the 49-year-old Suástegui Muñoz, who was a spokesperson for the Council of Ejidos and Communities Opposed to the La Parota Dam (CECOP) and a leader of Tourists United in the Defense and Rescue of Icacos Beach (TUDERPI), took place on Sunday April 27 in the town of Cacahuatepec in the state of Oaxaca near the border with Guerrero.
Photo by Tlachinollan.
La Jornada further reports: “Abel Barrera, director of Tlachinollan, said that the attack against Marco Antonio ‘shows that there is a pattern of attacks against community and territory defenders, which the (government) authorities do not investigate’. Marco Antonio ‘was an icon of resistance, of struggle, of the dignity of the peoples, who rebuked power; he pointed out those responsible, however, they did not investigate and let the attacks go as far as depriving him of his life.’”
The struggle against the La Parota dam
Infobae reports: “Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz was a key figure in the fight against the construction of the La Parota hydroelectric dam [on the Papagayo River], a project that threatened to flood communal lands in Cacahuatepec, Guerrero.”
Proceso further explains the La Parota dam is “a CFE [Federal Electricity Commission] hydroelectric megaproject that has sought unsuccessfully to settle in those ejidos with the help of governors, businessmen and organized crime.”
La Unión also notes: “For more than 20 years, he led the struggle of 21 communities in Guerrero against the construction of the La Parota dam, a megaproject of the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) that, if materialized, would affect more than 70,000 people and cause the forced displacement of some 20,000. The activist denounced that indigenous peoples and peasants were never adequately consulted.”
That article adds: “His commitment cost him three imprisonments, constant threats, the disappearance of his brother Vicente in 2021, and finally his life. In all the criminal proceedings faced, he was found innocent for lack of evidence.”
La Jornada reports: “During the commemoration of the 21st anniversary of CECOP, on July 28, 2024, in the town of Cacahuatepec, with the slogan For Agroecology, the spokesperson announced that the new mission was the fight against climate change and for sustainable agriculture, in addition to insisting that the decree of definitive cancellation of the La Parota project is still pending. because so far it is only suspended.”
In their 2007-08 Annual Review, PBI-Mexico noted: “The activities of the organisations we accompany [include] the Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre [whose] cases include human rights violations by the army, and defence of communities opposing the controversial La Parota hydroelectric dam project.”
PBI-Mexico also interviewed the Council of Ejidos and Communities Opposed to the La Parota Dam (CECOP) in December 2010 and shared that in this three-page report.
Defence of Icacos Beach in Acapulco
Suástegui Muñoz was also a leader of Tourists United in the Defense and Rescue of Icacos Beach (TUDERPI). Infobae explains: “He was involved in the defense of Acapulco beach against privatization projects and allegations of environmental crimes.”
La Unión highlights: “Since 2024 he had reported death threats while working in the tourist area of Acapulco.”
El Financiero adds: “In recent weeks, Marco Antonio Suástegui had actively participated in mobilizations linked to the interests of tourism service providers in various areas of the port of Acapulco, including Caleta, Caletilla and the so-called Golden Zone [an upscale district of the city]. …A day after the demonstration, on March 26, 2025, representatives of that sector announced the breakdown of dialogue with the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism (FONATUR) and with local authorities, pointing out that there were attempts to fragment the movement and impose external leadership.”
That article highlights: “At that time, Suástegui Muñoz warned that, if the disagreement with the Federal Government persisted, they would oppose the execution of projects in Acapulco, including the so-called ‘Maribús’.”
Earlier this year, The Guerrero Post explained: “President Claudia Sheinbaum has confirmed the construction of Maribús, a public water transport system in the bay of Acapulco, Guerrero, aimed at enhancing the transport system of this tourist destination. …The Maribús will be built by Navy (SEMAR) personnel and financed with public resources.”
La Jornada notes: “On March 4, during a meeting that the leader described as ‘harsh’, in the Eighth Naval Region, in Icacos, where commanders of the Secretariat of the Navy [SEMAR] and directors of Fonatur [the National Fund for the Promotion of Tourism], as well as other beach leaders, attended, Marco Suástegui pointed out that ‘the Easter holidays will not represent a trial by fire, but by acid, to show that those who depend on the beaches are organized’.”
That article adds: “The murder of the activist took place in an environment of violence in the port, since the beginning of the Easter holiday period, on April 11, which left at least 25 people murdered and public transport in the western area of the port paralyzed, due to attacks on drivers and units.”
No protection measures
Proceso notes: “Suástegui did not have precautionary measures from the federal government despite having denounced death threats against him for his work as an opponent of the installation of the project and for the search for his brother Vicente Iván, who disappeared in 2021 and whom he never saw again.”
The call for an investigation
El Financiero reports: “The Tlachinollan organization expressed its position on the case, pointing out that it is a crime that requires investigation and clarification. The organization called on state authorities to carry out a thorough investigation and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”
PBI-Canada extends our condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Marco Antonio Suástegui Muñoz.
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