Two environmental activists with political ties have been brutally murdered during the past week in Guerrero and Oaxaca.

Jaime Jiménez Ruiz, a former municipal agent in the town of Paso de la Reina known for his activism defending the Río Verde river, was shot and killed March 28 while en route to the town from nearby Santiago Jamiltepec.

The murder was the fifth this year in Paso de la Reina, a community of approximately 500 inhabitants 120 kilometers from the tourist destination of Puerto Escondido.

The environmental organization Educa Oaxaca, which has fought large scale hydroelectric and mining projects, said that neither state nor federal authorities have taken preventative measures despite the killings of two citizens on March 14 and 15.

“[Paso de la Reina] suffers under despotic authoritarianism and impunity, which are the structural causes of the violent deaths of five of its citizens this year,” the organization said in a statement.

In Guerrero, meanwhile, Carlos Marqués Oyorzábal, municipal commissioner of the Las Conchitas community in San Miguel Totolapan, was killed by armed men Saturday while traveling on an ATV to the nearby community of Ciénaga de Puerto Alegre. He was tortured, killed and dismembered.

Marqués belonged to the communal Pueblos Unidos organization, dedicated to protecting forest land. It has previously obstructed trucks from entering the region to extract timber.

Another local citizens group said that despite threats, residents will continue to obstruct access by logging trucks.

Sources: Reforma (sp)