Mynor López
Mynor López is a human rights defender who has acted as mediator in conflicts between indigenous communities and state authorities, particularly regarding government supported hydroelectric projects in Santa Cruz Barillas. The construction of the latter begun in 2008 by the company Hidro Santa Cruz (the Guatemalan subsidiary of a Spanish company).
Since Otto Pérez Molina assumed the role of President in January 2012, cases of harassment and threats against HRDs have been on the rise. Human rights defenders (HRDs) in Guatemala are subjected to death threats, physical attacks, acts of harassment, surveillance, stigmatisation, judicial harassment, arbitrary detention, forced disappearance and killings. Many of the violations are carried out by clandestine security structures and illegal groups. The exceptionally high level of impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators increases the risk exponentially for HRDs.
