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News > Mexico

Mexico: Activist Protector of Monarch Butterflies Found Dead

  • It's still unclear how environmental activist Homero Gomez died though his disappearance sparked an outcry in Mexico.

    It's still unclear how environmental activist Homero Gomez died though his disappearance sparked an outcry in Mexico. | Photo: @Homerogomez_g

Published 29 January 2020
Opinion

The remains of Homero Gomez were located inside a well in the community called El Soldado, but due to the conditions of the corpse, DNA tests were requested for identification.

Environmental activist Homero Gomez, who fought to protect the famed monarch butterfly, has been found dead in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, a local authority said Wednesday, two weeks after he disappeared.

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The activist's body was located inside a well in a vacant lot 800 meters from the place where he was last seen in the community called El Soldado but due to the conditions of the corpse, DNA tests were requested for identification.

It's still unclear how Gomez died though his disappearance sparked an outcry in an increasingly violent country where activists are routinely threatened, harmed or even killed as a result of their work.

His brother, Amado Gomez asked the authorities for a DNA test because although he considers that the dimensions of the body match, the clothes do not correspond with the ones Homero wore the last time he was seen. Experts from the State Prosecutor's Office keep on conducting the corresponding forensic studies.

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First reports establish that the body did not present signs of torture, but the death causes are still undetermined.​​​​​​​

The Human Rights State Commission of Michoacan reported Gomez's disappearance on Jan. 13 and commission official Mayte Cardona told Reuters “he was probably hurting the interests of people illegally logging in the area.”​​​​​​​

The activist became best known among Mexicans for posting mesmerizing videos and photos of the orange and black butterflies on social media, urging the protection of their habitat, the reserve El Rosario Ocampo Michoacan.​​​​​​​

Michoacan state is home to the country’s largest monarch butterfly reserve, a World Heritage Site, as well as many rival drug gangs who battle to control smuggling routes through often-arid terrain to the Pacific and the interior of the country.​​​​​​​

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