News: Anti Canadian Mining Activist Killed in Chiapas

From HuffPO On the night of November 27, Mariano Abarca was sitting outside of his home in the town of Chicomuselo in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
The married father of four, who owned a local restaurant, was talking to a friend when a gunman walked up and shot him four times at point-blank rage, killing Abarca before jumping on a waiting motorcycle and jetting off into the night.

Abarca was an anti-mining activist and his alleged killers were mine workers. The 51-year-old soft-spoken community leader has been campaigning to close the barite mine run by Canadian mining company Blackfire Exploration Ltd. The mining of barite, a crucial part of almost all drilling operations, is causing environmental damage and harming the health of locals, according to activists.

From: MinesandCommunities
Employees of the Canadian company, Blackfire Exploration, have been arrested for allegedly being implicated in the murder.Blackfire's mine has also been shut temporarily by order of the Mexican government, citing environmental infractions.

From: RightsAction "..a dear friend, admired for his struggle against the Canadian mining company Blackfire, and a member of the Mexican Network of People Affected by Mining (REMA-Chiapas). Yesterday we spoke to him on the phone and he told us he had filed a complaint against the company. Today he's dead. It is with great sadness that I write these words. I will continue to update here as more news becomes available." GUSTAVO CASTRO, Otros Mundos