Armed people surprised the communitary leader when he was walking towards his home. Friends, family and environmentalist institutions demand that the crime does not go unpunished.
Environmentalist and communitary leader Walter Manfredo Méndez Barrios, 36, was murdered last Wednesday in Petén, Guatemala, in an armed attack when he was returning home.
The President of the Petén Front against Dams, Agustín Tebalam, regretted the death of Manfredo, who was a member of the organization, and demanded the authorities that the crime does not go unpunished.
According to a report of the National Civil Police, the victim was shot by unidentified people who were hiding among bushes as he was walking home.
The leader was immediately transported to the San Benito Regional Hospital, but he died before he arrived due to the seriousness of the wounds.
The murder of Walter Méndez generated commotion and repudiation amongst the inhabitants of the region, environmentalist institutions, family and friends.
In context
On September 18, 2015, Rigoberto Lima Choc, a communitary leader that had just been elected councilman for the Sayaxché Municipality, of Petén, was murdered outside the Peace Court of that locality.
The activist had been one of the first ones in pointing out the pollution of the La Pasión river.
