Two other people were killed in a shootout with Mexican army police near a protest over a dam diverting water to the United States, the National Guard said, as tensions between protesters and officials in the drought-affected region stabilized.
Mexicans in the northern border state of Chihuahua, angry about the water crossing the border, threw Molotov cocktails and stones at security forces tuesday night, occupying the La Boquilla dam and finishing the floodgates.
Violence occurs amid plans to divert more water to the United States due to Mexico’s so-called “water debt” from a bilateral treaty regulating the distribution of water between neighbors.
The National Guard said on Twitter that some of its La Boquilla officials arrested three other people discovered with tear fuel and a gun loader on Tuesday night and took them to the city of Delicias for repair.
– National Guard (@GN_MEXICO_) September 9, 2020
There, the National Guard unit was shot dead through armed civilians and “repelled aggression,” according to Wednesday.
He left one user dead at the site, while another injured user later died in a hospital.
A witness told reuters news firm that teams of citizens around La Boquilla Dam clashed Tuesday with National Guard troops after refusing to close the dam gates.
Residents threw Molotov cocktails, stones and sticks at security forces, who were dressed in clothes and responded with tear gas, the witness said and showed photographs. Eventually, protesters stormed the dam’s premises and closed the floodgates.
“For us, it’s a wonderful satisfaction, something to be proud of, [and] a triumph for other people in saving water,” said Abel Alvarado Martínez, a bakery owner in a nearby village, who joined the protests.
The Ministry of the Interior did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sought to dispel the considerations of Mexican farmers and the northern electorate on water rights, while protecting the United States.
Several other protests have become violent about sharing water with the United States this year, and Mexican farmers warn that drought means Mexico will not divert water for now.
López Obrador reported last week that the United Nations could be invited to discuss water allocation plans and asked the citizens of Chihuahua not to leave them without water.
He also warned Mexico of “sanctions” if it diverted water after accumulating a deficit in recent years for receiving more water than it returned. “Remember there are elections in America,” López Obrador said.
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