GUATEMALA CITY — A Guatemalan lawyer who worked closely with organizations representing farm workers and indigenous groups was killed in an apparent ambush, human rights organizations said Thursday.
José Domingo was with two members of the United Agricultural Workers Committee when they were shot by a group of men on Wednesday south of the capital, said Daniel Pascual, leader of that organization.
Guatemalan authorities had not commented on the attack. The other two men were injured, one seriously, Pascual said.
Domingo was helping legalize a property title in the area, Pascual said. Land ownership issues are often contentious in rural Guatemala, where indigenous people and agricultural workers struggle to obtain title to the land they live on and often face illegal evictions.
“It was an ambush, the crime was planned and premeditated,” Pascual said. “Ordinary criminals don’t act that way.”
Domingo had defended the agricultural workers organization in several cases, as well as other indigenous groups.
“We cannot separate this attack from politics, because the two men who were with him are members of the (committee),” Pascual said. He said Domingo helped his members defend themselves against attempts to evict them from their land and helped them obtain clear land titles.
The United Nations Human Rights Office called for a prompt and impartial investigation.
The Wuxhtaj Peoples Council also condemned the attack and said Domingo was from the Popti or Jakalteko people and a “defender of Mother Earth.” ___
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
