Environmental activist Roberto Chávez was shot and killed Sunday night by suspected gunmen operating in the Sierra de Madero biosphere reserve. He was scheduled to file a criminal complaint against them with the State Attorney General’s Office (FGE).
The Attorney General’s Office reported that the crime occurred around 10:30 p.m. near the town of El Sangarro, as the victim was walking with his family after having dinner at a local restaurant.
Roberto Chávez was shot three times in the head and died instantly. The assailants fled the scene.
The victim was a member of the El Sangarro Environmental Defense Committee, comprised of residents of the mountainous region who have denounced illegal logging and the occupation of the area by armed groups.
This murder comes on the heels of the shooting attack suffered by fellow environmentalist Javier Gómez at his home on November 6, 2025, which forced him and his family to flee their residence.
Environmentalists and residents of the Sierra de Madero, which extends into mountainous areas of the municipalities of Tacámbaro, Morelia, Charo, Tzitzio, Tiquicheo, and Acuitzio del Canje, have demanded that the Attorney General’s Office investigate Juan Carlos Gamiño Camacho, the mayor of Madero, who came from the Morena-Labor Party (PT) alliance. They accused him of providing protection through the Municipal Police to armed individuals operating in the area.
On March 21, the Attorney General’s Office arrested four alleged members of the Los Sierra Cartel, the main criminal organization accused of threatening forest defenders in the region.
Those arrested are Gersaín “N”, María Norma “N”, Jorge Alberto “N”, and Elvira “N”, from whom authorities seized two pistols, a shotgun, more than two kilograms of marijuana, nine small bags of methamphetamine, two motorcycles, two cell phones, and camouflage clothing.
It should be noted that this group is also accused of murdering Sergio Rangel, a master mezcal producer, on May 22, 2025, in the town of Piedras de Lumbre, also in Madero.
Source: latinus.us
