The murder of 26-year-old sea turtle conservationist Jairo Mora in late May exposed cracks in Costa Rica’s international environmental image, and proved that protecting nature sometimes has a terrible cost. Official corruption, lax regulations, and drug trafficking threaten the environmental bounty of Central America’s most visited country.
Tag: Narcotrafficking
Honduras: World Heritage Biosphere Trafficked Toward Destruction
Deforestation, the proposed damming of pristine rivers for hydroelectricity, and destruction of indigenous communities threatens the wildest and most biodiverse corner of tropical Central America: The Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve
Guatemala: “Genocidal” General Elected to Fight Drug War
Guatemala’s former President Pérez Molina, accused of being an intellectual and material author of torture, disappearances, executions, massacres and indeed genocide. He ended up resigning for corruption charges three years later.
Mexico’s Huichol People: Sustaining the Worlds of Tatuutsí Maxakwaxí
A documentary in two parts about an independent school Tatuutsí Maxakwaxí of the Wixáritari, in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. The school focuses on preservation of their ancient culture and providing life tools for the young, enabling their participation in the official educational system of Mexico.
Narcotrafficking in Mexico – Neoliberalism and a Militarized State
“In southern Mexico many multinationals have significant interests because there are so many natural resources. Developers want to use those lands for eco-tourism, they want to exploit the natural resources contained in the forests, etc. The pretext is always the ‘war on drugs’ or ‘security’, but there is more behind the justifications and Chiapas is just one example.”