Letters Call for Action on Second Anniversary of Forced Disappearance of Human Rights Defenders Ricardo Lagunes Gasca and Antonio Diaz Valencia

(January 15, 2025 | Washington, D.C.) – Today marks two years of impunity in the forced disappearances of environmental defenders Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca and Antonio Díaz Valencia. Both environmental defenders were actively involved in the defense of indigenous rights from the Ternium-owned Las Encinas iron ore mine in Aquila, Mexico, prior to their disappearance. As documented by Global Witness in its annual report Missing Voices and the Fair Steel Coalition in the Real Cost of Steel, enforced disappearance of human rights defenders in Mexico is of grave concern, and the case of Ricardo and Antonio is emblematic.

Ricardo, a human rights lawyer, and Antonio, an Indigenous leader, were forcibly disappeared on January 15, 2023, after achieving legal victories that empowered their community to defend Indigenous rights and influence mining development by Ternium in the Aquila mine, Michoacán, Mexico. Both individuals had reported threats from Ternium and requested government intervention. Their vehicle was found abandoned on the side of the highway, with multiple bullet holes. Two years later, their whereabouts remain unknown, and their families continue to demand truth and justice.

In light of this, ICAR and several other human rights organizations sent letters today to Ternium SA, President Elect Donald Trump, and President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, calling on them to take concrete steps to use their power and resources to help locate the missing defenders, ensure their safe return, and meet with the families and their representatives in this endeavor.

Letter to Ternium SA – Download Here

Letter to President Elect Donald Trump – Download Here

Letter to President of the United States of Mexico Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo – Download Here (English) & Download Here (Spanish)