The disappearance in January 2023 of lawyer Ricardo Lagunes Gasca and teacher Antonio Díaz Valencia, land defenders in the Nahua community of Aquila, Michoacán, who were engaged in a social and legal struggle against the mining company Ternium, is representative of how the triad of State, corporations, and organized crime operates to make defenders disappear in Mexico and other parts of the world, according to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID).
In their recent report, Enforced Disappearance in the Context of Land, Natural Resources, and Environmental Defense, the independent experts comprising the United Nations body argue that, based on information received in recent years regarding Mexico, the case of the Aquila defenders reveals a pattern in disappearances that could involve companies, including impunity, state omissions in the investigation, and pressure tactics to obstruct an effective search.
“Clearly, this is an example where we find information about possible links between the company, the state, and organized crime in the disappearances. This is a case that involves Indigenous populations, who are the most affected by disappearances, and it is a case that has generated a great deal of activity, with many international demonstrations, but even so, we still haven’t found them. What this case shows is precisely the widespread impunity surrounding these types of enforced disappearances,” warns Mexican lawyer Ana Lorena Delgadillo, a member of the WGEID.
In its report, this body, created in 1980, mentions the disappearance of Lagunes and Valencia when referring to “cases in which commercial companies, with the acquiescence, tolerance, or support of the State, have allegedly perpetrated enforced disappearances of human rights defenders.”
According to a witness to the events—an alleged lookout for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel—the defenders were attacked for their opposition to the transnational corporation’s mining activities. The company Ternium has denied any involvement in their disappearance.
“Mr. Ricardo Lagunes Gasca and Mr. Antonio Díaz Valencia, in Mexico, have been victims of enforced disappearance in connection with their legitimate defense against mining activities, and the authorities have allegedly failed to investigate their environmental activism as a motive,” the report notes.
The working group, Delgadillo explains, sent communications to Luxembourg—Ternium’s headquarters—to alert them about the case and request their collaboration in the investigation. Furthermore, international organizations such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) have “repeatedly” requested the intervention of experts from other countries to support the investigations and the search for the defenders, without so far receiving a favorable response from either the transnational corporation or the Mexican government.
“Facing powerful interests also presents significant challenges in locating them and advancing the investigations. The case of Ricardo and Antonio exemplifies precisely this: the struggle of Indigenous communities for their territory and resources, and what can happen to those who confront the economic interests of very powerful companies,” Delgadillo states in an interview.
Colombia, Mexico, and Honduras among the most dangerous countries
The WGEID report identifies Colombia as the most dangerous country for human rights defenders in Latin America, along with Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Guatemala, and Brazil. The alarm was raised after detecting a global trend of enforced disappearances of defenders in retaliation for their work. These crimes occur in nations with weak rule of law, plagued by corruption and inequality, and lacking comprehensive legislation on corporate conduct and human rights responsibilities.
Organized crime, in collusion with the state and corporations—including transnational ones—is responsible for the enforced disappearance of numerous human rights defenders, warns the Mexican lawyer. The sectors of particular concern to the working group are mining, agribusiness, hydrocarbons, hydroelectric power, fossil fuels, and the timber industry.
“Clearly, these disappearances occur in a context where organized crime is colluding with the state and the companies that carry out these disappearances so they can continue profiting from the appropriation of territories or resources,” Delgadillo points out. “Part of the importance of this report is that, for the first time, it highlights this complex link between economic interests, the state and corruption, and the involvement of companies and organized crime.”
The working group’s report, published and presented in September to the United Nations Human Rights Council, details that each country and region presents a distinct risk profile for human rights defenders, shaped by a combination of factors that include “non-state actors,” such as organized crime, companies—commercial, transnational, or private security—and financial institutions. Foreign investment, natural resources, and large-scale energy projects also play a role.
A common thread across all regions is the prioritization of economic power over community rights, and the collusion between the state and corporations.
“In Mexico, what stands out is this collusion between organized crime, corporations, and the state, which in some places makes it very difficult to distinguish between them, because they are acting in a highly coordinated manner,” emphasizes Delgadillo, who was part of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) for the identification of women murdered in Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua in the 1990s.
Among Mexico’s particularities, she adds, are the involvement of organized crime groups in the disappearances of human rights defenders, along with the lack of state protection, the complicity of the corporation-government-criminal triad in carrying out these crimes, the lack of recognition of Indigenous peoples, institutional corruption, militarization, and the use of vigilante groups to attack communities and those leading the defense.
“The current impunity for enforced disappearances in Mexico, along with the alleged involvement of organized crime and the increase in violence against defenders, is very worrying, as is the violence against indigenous peoples who defend the LNRE,” the report states.Defenders Without Protection Guarantees
“The issue of lack of protection was particularly prominent in Mexico. There are no effective guarantees for the defense of people facing risk, from the moment they report it until after a disappearance occurs. The issue of corruption was also strongly emphasized in Mexico,” says Delgadillo, who has been part of the WGEID since 2023.
Although the report states that there are multiple risk factors for this crime, a common thread is the power imbalance between defenders and the interests they oppose.
In an interview, the lawyer, who has more than 20 years of experience in issues such as women’s and migrants’ rights, disappearances, and femicides, highlighted three relevant aspects of the report: the lack of statistics on the disappearances of defenders, which contributes to the invisibility of these cases worldwide; The report highlights that the struggle of human rights defenders is not only against the state, but also against transnational corporations, which implies a social, economic, and security disadvantage. It also demonstrates that the lack of demarcation and regulation of land tenure leads to the appropriation of territories by corporations or governments.
“The rights and needs of victims, including their families and affected communities, must be at the heart of any response. This includes their rights to truth, justice, and comprehensive reparations,” the document emphasizes.
Although global statistics on the disappearances of human rights defenders are unavailable, the UN working group draws on information from the 2024 report by Global Witness, Silenced Voices, as well as reports published in 2022 and 2023. Experts also note that cases are significantly underreported.
According to available statistics, between 2012 and 2022, 1,733 human rights defenders were killed, an average of one every two days. In 2022, of the 177 registered victims, 36% were Indigenous people, killed in conflicts related to agribusiness, mining, logging, and infrastructure projects. By 2023, the number of killings had risen to 196, with 43% of the victims being Indigenous and 12% women, while many other defenders faced threats, violence, stigmatization, and criminalization.
“This speaks to the invisibility of these cases, because we can’t even get statistics on them,” the lawyer emphasizes.
Globally, in 2023, 1,538 human rights violations against defenders were reported in 105 countries; those defending Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and peasant communities in Latin America were the most affected.
Delgadillo indicated that among the information reviewed by the working group was the special report on disappeared defenders published by the media alliance Where Do the Disappeared Go?, Mongabay Latam, and Quinto Elemento Lab. The investigation documents that 93 environmental and land defenders were victims of enforced disappearance between December 1st, 2006, and August 1st, 2023, 67% of whom were Indigenous.
The WGEID warns that when a community leader or defender disappears, the damage is not only individual but also collective, as it disrupts family structures, social cohesion, and a sense of collective belonging that often transcends borders.
For a year, the working group conducted consultations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, receiving information from countries such as China, Colombia, India, Mexico, Tanzania, Nepal, the Philippines, Uganda, and Thailand; it also conducted approximately 50 interviews.
Multiple Perpetrators
The report underscores that the enforced disappearance of human rights defenders is not random; it is directly linked to their work, as its objective is to prevent them from carrying it out. The crime is committed to create a deterrent effect on the participation of others.
In addition to state agents who participate directly or indirectly in enforced disappearances—police or military forces, local officials—other players involved were identified, such as organized crime groups—which in certain areas have taken direct control of the exploitation of natural resources and have committed disappearances with the complicity of the state—commercial and transnational corporations, mercenary groups, private security companies, financial institutions, non-state armed groups, landowners, and settlers.
The working group observed a trend showing the involvement of transnational corporations from economically developed nations in the enforced disappearances of human rights defenders from developing countries. They received numerous examples illustrating how this crime facilitates the continuation of harmful but lucrative projects.
According to a 2017 report, companies based in Canada, China, and the United States were linked to 25% of the reported attacks against human rights defenders in the previous two years. More recent cases of enforced disappearances of defenders involve European companies operating in India and Mexico.
But the companies do not act alone, the report warns, but rather by hiring criminal groups to avoid being directly linked to the crime. This collusion was confirmed in countries such as Colombia, Peru, and Mexico.
“Organized crime groups in Guerrero, Mexico, maintain ties with state authorities, with whom they collude to carry out enforced disappearances of people defending their lands and natural resources,” the document states.
“In Mexico, as in Colombia,” Delgadillo adds, “it is clear that organized crime is also among the players involved.”Impunity and State Absence
Lack of trust in the authorities and fear of reprisals impact the families of disappeared human rights defenders, who may be threatened, attacked, disappeared, or killed if they continue seeking justice or the truth about the whereabouts of their loved ones. This contributes to the underreporting and invisibility of enforced disappearances.
“National legal frameworks, when they exist, are often poorly implemented,” the report concludes, “and defenders face widespread impunity, criminalization, and public stigmatization.”
“There is an absence of the State once risks are reported, and there is an absence of the State once the person disappears, in terms of effective search measures,” Delgadillo points out.
“Disputes over land tenure,” the UN group adds in its conclusions, “government corruption for resource exploitation, and the lack of prior informed consent [from communities] are factors that, when assessed globally, contribute to creating a climate of insecurity for defenders of land and natural resources, which in turn can lead to a greater risk of enforced disappearance.”
The recommendations the working group makes to States include adopting laws, policies, and practices that guarantee communities’ rights to ancestral lands and their recognition; taking urgent measures to search for defenders who are victims of enforced disappearance; and ensuring the prosecution not only of the direct perpetrators but also of those who facilitate them, including transnational corporations, investors, and development banks that finance, support, or incentivize projects related to enforced disappearances.
Experts warn that the need for countries to harmonize their domestic legislation and establish corporate human rights obligations, including imposing sanctions on companies for non-compliance, remains unresolved.
“A novel aspect [of the report] is the establishment of a series of responsibilities for companies, and it includes a strong chapter of recommendations for the State related to legislation,” Delgadillo emphasizes. “There must be clear legislation governing corporate actions. The State has the obligation to suspend company activities if they are carrying out actions that violate human rights and where there is a risk of enforced disappearance.”
Among other measures, the working group recommends that commercial companies and financial institutions refrain from spreading harmful narratives and initiating unfounded accusations or legal proceedings against human rights defenders, or reporting them to the authorities as a means of intimidation; suspend operations when there is a credible risk of enforced disappearance, when the free, prior, and informed consent of communities has not been obtained, and when dissent has provoked violence.
They also stipulate that companies must cooperate in the search for missing persons; facilitate immediate access to relevant territories; provide logistical and material support for search efforts; finance independent expert analyses when necessary; and contribute material resources for investigations.
The UN High Commissioner’s Office is asked to strengthen its monitoring and public reporting on enforced disappearances of human rights defenders, addressing patterns that imply collusion between state and non-state actors and transnational corporate conduct. National human rights organizations are asked to map, in collaboration with affected communities and supporting organizations, the applicable legislation in the areas of agrarian, civil, administrative, and criminal law to identify existing risks related to the defense of land, natural resources, and the environment.
Delgadillo explains that, once completed, they sent the report to the aforementioned states, but neither these countries nor the companies they sought to contribute information on the cases responded. Therefore, she believes they have not accepted the recommendations.
For the human rights expert, the report seeks not only to document the serious situation faced by human rights defenders, but also to generate reflection in society on the importance of the work they do with their communities, and the urgency of protecting them.
“The report also tries to show a universal responsibility. There is a responsibility of States, first and foremost, but also of society to defend those who are defending our rights, and the fact that there aren’t even statistics on disappearances speak to how forgotten these people and communities are,” Delgadillo concludes. “It’s important that there be a much broader awareness that it is our duty to protect those who are protecting our rights and resources.”
Original article by By Analy Nuño for Where Do the Disappeared Go? At Raíchali, November 3rd, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.