Press Conference: Justice for Disappeared Mexico Human Rights Defenders 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 30, 2023

CONTACT: 

Myneilles Negron | +1 703 585 6727 | mynellies@communicationsshop.us

On February 1, organizations that form part of the Alianza Americas network in the U.S. will join actions at Mexican embassies and consulates demanding the search for and rescue of both defenders

January 30, 2023 — Alianza Americas, a multiethnic network led by migrants in the United States, will host an online press conference this February 1 in solidarity with human rights lawyer Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, and Professor Antonio Díaz Valencia, leader of the Indigenous community of Aquila, located in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, who were victims of kidnapping and forced disappearance on January 15, 2023. Both disappeared when they left a communal assembly held in the municipality of Aquila and were on their way to the capital of Colima state. Díaz led a group of community members who, with Lagunes as their legal advisor, work in opposition to another community group that unconditionally supports the expansion plans of the multinational mining company Ternium, which has been operating in Aquila for decades. 

Since there is still no information on the whereabouts of Lagunes and Diaz, their relatives have called for global actions. On February 1, Alianza Americas member organizations in the U.S. will join the solidarity actions in front of Mexican embassies and consulates demanding the search for and recovery of both defenders. Following the demonstrations, Alianza Americas will join relatives of Lagunes and Díaz and spokespersons of the MAPAS Collective, which accompanies relatives of disappeared persons in the state of Michoacán, in a virtual press conference.

WHEN: February 1, 2023. 10 a.m. PT, 11 a.m. CT, 12 a.m. ET.

WHERE: Zoom. Register here to participate.

WHAT: Online press conference Justice for Ricardo and Antonio in which they will participate: 

• Antoine Lagunes, brother of Ricardo Arturo Lagunes
• Keyvan Antonio Díaz, son of Antonio Díaz Valencia
• MAPAS Collective, from Michoacán
• Other participants waiting to be confirmed.

This event will be in Spanish and will have simultaneous interpretation to English. Send questions to press@alianzaamericas.org