Unknown People Enter the House of Mario Luna, Indigenous Leader of Northern Mexico

On June 27^th, 2017, at around five in the morning, unknown people entered the house of Indigenous leader Mario Luna in the community of Vicam, Sonora. After which, they burned the car of his wife Victoria Anahí Ochoa Domínguez. The leader of the Yaqui tribe immediately reported the incident to the Protection Mechanism of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, of which he is a beneficiary. Representatives of the organization assured him that the state police would arrive to his aid, but the help never arrived. Before the lack of response, Mario Luna sought local police to come to his house, getting agents to visit.

Through a communiqué, the organization Separaz made note that the aggression against the Yaqui leader is part of a series of actions of harassment in retaliation for the opposition of the Yaqui communities to the operation of an aqueduct. The aqueduct puts in risk the Yaqui tribe’s access to water and the survival of their peoples. Mario Luna counts on protection from the federal and state authorities. However, as the organization explained, these forces are inadequate and insufficient, as they cannot stop the aggressions against him. For this, the organization solicited urgent means of protection and investigation.

The nongovernmental organization denounced that until now, the authorities have not implemented sufficient and adequate measures to guarantee the security of Mario Luna and his family. In spite of the commitment of the Protection Mechanism on the morning of June 27^th, the police protection still has not arrived to his house. Mario Luna continues with the same measures he had before June 27^th, in spite of having communicated to the Protection Mechanism and the authorities of Sonora that they are insufficient.

The Attorney General of Justice of the State of Sonora has registered the complaint, but until now there are no concrete results from the investigation.

Translated from the original here: http://www.somoselmedio.org/article/desconocidos-ingresan-casa-de-mario-luna-l%C3%ADder-ind%C3%ADgena-del-norte-de-m%C3%A9xico