Original subtitles

Good morning. Please introduce yourself. Say your position.

Homero Gómez González.

Municipal president and commissioner of El Rosario,

where the world's biggest sanctuary is located.

After a two-month journey,

we can see them flying!

Brides of the sun.

The traveler butterfly.

World heritage.

Souls of the dead!

Come visit! It's a world wonder!

Look at them!

Beautiful!

Michoacán's Attorney General issued a warrant

for the disappearance of activist Homero Gómez González.

He was last seen on Monday

attending a meeting in the village of El Soldado.

But Homero's case is one of 800 activists who have received death threats.

Today, his family, his village, and perhaps the butterflies

want to know what exactly happened to Homero Gómez.

It's one of the most breathtaking displays on Earth.

But their sanctuary is on the verge of disappearing.

The monarch butterfly population has decreased by 22%

compared to last year.

The tall pine and oyamel fir have been devastated

by the cultivation of profitable products such as avocado.

1,733 environmental defenders

have been killed in the last ten years.

68% of them are in Latin America.

Mexico had the highest number of environmental activist murders.

THE GUARDIAN OF THE MONARCHS

After earning his degree,

my brother was one of the first professionals here in the community.

He was a good student.

He always got good grades.

And the locals here, the farmers, they had high hopes for him,

trusting he'd use his skills to help them.

That's when he starts to get involved in environmental issues

and the monarch butterfly.

EL ROSARIO CENTER

They're called sanctuaries because it's where many butterflies die, millions.

The male dies when the female butterfly returns

to the USA and Canada to lay its eggs.

And many butterflies die,

whether eaten by birds and rodents or because of the cold,

physical exhaustion, and frost.

That's why it's been called a sanctuary.

So, he got more and more involved with the community as advisor.

This is where his story begins, right? His career.

We watch over our forests every day.

We have more than 1,000 farming plots.

Now we plant trees.

So, this place will always be safe,

but we've got to work to protect our monarch butterfly,

one of Mexico's natural wonders.

Homero was a joker.

But at the same time, he was very affectionate.

He'd hug his kids and tell them how much he loved them.

He was thrilled when little Homero was born.

When I gave birth, he told me, "Ask me for anything you want."

And I asked him why.

He said, "I want to thank you for giving me a son."

HOMERO'S WIFE

We were so happy back then.

We need trees for butterflies to live.

Now, where do butterflies land?

My dad was a happy man.

My earliest memories with him are going for walks in the forest.

I played with butterflies.

They'd fly so close to me,

I tried to touch them, but they wouldn't let me.

He'd take pictures of the butterflies

even when they were deep inside trees.

This morning, there are hundreds of butterflies flying,

because they are forming several colonies which I came across this morning.

We're going to see them right now.

So, he was a leader of his community,

which is an area of communally-owned land.

It's an area that's very rich in forests.

There's a lot of water there.

The trees grow really quickly.

But it's also a very poor region.

And Homero became responsible

for promoting the protection of the monarch butterfly sanctuary.

A baby deer sleeping here

in the monarch butterfly woods.

It camouflages with the branch.

And I found it sound asleep.

A baby deer.

It's the season

when fawns are born.

The monarch butterfly sanctuary in Michoacán

is opening its doors to the public

to welcome thousands of visitors until March 31.

The state tourism department

noted that 225,000 visitors are expected,

both national and foreign,

in the Rosario and Sierra Chincua sanctuaries.

BUTTERFLIES 300 METERS AHEAD

They're beautiful.

I'm teary-eyed.

One of the most beautiful things we've ever seen.

At first, he'd post pictures of himself with the butterfly

and write explanations on Facebook.

Eventually, he asked me to film him.

Greetings from El Rosario...

In the beginning, he made many mistakes.

He'd say, "Cut. Let's start over."

We even created our own signs.

He'd signal, and I'd start filming.

Today, I'm sharing this place

with a natural wonder, the monarch butterfly.

Known as the traveler, the brides of the sun, a world heritage.

We invite you to come see.

We're open daily from 8:00 to 5:00 until the end of March.

He had many books about the monarchs, their lives, their journey from Canada.

He went to Canada to see the butterflies.

He gathered all this information.

He practically knew everything there is to know about them.

It's easy to see why people are so passionate,

so in love, so enthusiastic about this butterfly,

because it does what we call impossible.

This insect has managed to permeate

many societies, many different groups.

These butterflies are symbols of the impossible,

of dreams.

There are many references to the idea of transformation,

resilience, possibility, and the future,

and the notion of having more than one home.

That's what I hear from the migrant groups I work with north of the United States.

Undocumented!

Unafraid!

There is a parallel between the experience

and endurance of this nomad butterfly and humans on the move.

And at the same time,

the butterfly is seen as a carrier of the souls of the ancestors

in Central Mexican cultures.

The butterfly brings their relatives to these Mexican festivities,

which combine ancestral and modern traditions.

In this context, what's interesting to me

is how it's connected to imaginary worlds.

Thus, this butterfly manages to achieve

what other creatures wouldn't dare imagine.

Let's start with the egg.

The monarch lays its eggs under the leaves of the milkweed plant.

This plant also migrated from the south to the north thousands of years ago.

It's the only host plant of the monarch butterfly.

The caterpillar forms what is known as a cocoon or a chrysalis.

The organs which once belonged to the caterpillar

start turning into wings.

Then it emerges as an adult butterfly,

as a monarch.

A monarch that is born in Canada

will try to find a lake

to benefit from the wind currents

that will help propel it and make its flight easier.

KILOMETERS

LAKE ERIE CANADA-US BORDER

WEST VIRGINIA, USA

They'll cross what we know as the Midwest.

OKLAHOMA, USA

In the desert, they may face difficulties.

This is a hard time for the butterfly because it's been flying for many days.

It'll come across infrastructure such as bridges, which can be complicated.

The struggle through that last stretch in Mexico is grueling,

partly because there is no water,

and partly because plants are scarce.

There's no more milkweed and less nectar.

Punctual to their expected arrival date,

monarch butterflies fly over the oyamel forests of Michoacán.

The first swarms arrive from southern Canada,

crossing the United States all the way to Mexico.

They arrive in the monarch butterfly reserve

and head to the exact oyamel forest

where their ancestors came from.

And there, they take a break.

They're tired.

They've been flying for months,

many thousands of kilometers,

possibly with no water or food.

The butterfly will take a reproductive break,

which we know as colonies.

They wouldn't survive on their own because of the weather conditions.

We've been open since November 19.

It's been a very successful season. Crowds are coming.

Yesterday, we had 1,300 visitors. 1,000 the day before.

People are coming. We're doing great.

We expect 180,000 tourists this season.

The communities take care of their forests because it's their home.

They make use of their forests, it's their livelihood,

like other species do.

When there is a change in local use due to external demands,

it opens the door to other items and beings

that may be harmful to human communities

and to the forest, or in this case, to the butterflies.

Michoacán is rich in natural resources.

It has all climates.

But the east is especially rich in timber.

It's rich in minerals too.

In Michoacán alone, we've identified at least 14 criminal groups.

Those are the ones on record.

Mencho Special Forces!

The Correas.

The Pájaros de la Sierra.

The New Michoacán Family.

The Viagras.

United Cartels.

And two big large-scale crime groups,

Jalisco New Generation Cartel

and the Sinaloa Cartel, who have local allies.

We're talking about trafficking ranging from weapons to drugs.

A significant portion of cartel income

comes from manufacturing methamphetamines

and setting up meth labs.

Michoacán is important to drug cartels

because it's part of the drug-trafficking routes to the north.

Different groups control these routes.

It's the docking point

for drug shipments coming from South America.

And then these shipments must travel by land to get to the border.

Damn it!

Michoacán has become increasingly violent,

as the 22% increase in intentional homicides shows.

Unfortunately, this violence is far from over.

This caused the cartels to split.

In turn, their main criminal activity, drug trafficking,

evolved into a broader criminal portfolio,

such as extortion, kidnapping, and illegal logging,

mainly for export.

Homero would say

that our forests are a goldmine.

A 30-meter pine tree

can sell for 18,000 pesos.

We've arrested people in the act, cutting down the trees,

stealing some trees.

We closed the sanctuary to demand help from the authorities.

Instead, they cover for them.

And we're proud to stand watch

because our forests are preserved.

It also helps in demanding attention from the government.

Since there's less noise at night,

it's easier to hear a chainsaw or someone chopping a tree.

Rifles, machetes,

that's all we take to the forest.

We know we're at risk.

Their advantage was knowing the woods like the back of their hand.

They'd just grab them

and hand them over to the authorities.

- Show your face, man. - Face up!

- He's your boss, man. - Get him up.

The locals, armed with nothing but their courage

and God knows what else, confiscated the timber.

When he found all the trees they'd already cut down on the ground,

he pressed charges.

But what those people told him was,

"See you when we get out."

He said many times at our community meetings,

"Brothers, let's keep defending our interests in the woods,

here in our sanctuary."

"Even if someone gets killed,

they can't kill us all."

Something he once told me that still resonates in my mind

was that organized crime's next step

would be to take over the natural resources.

He said they'd take control of the water, the forest.

And they certainly did.

That's what we're going through now.

Organized crime operates similarly almost everywhere.

You see a convoy of 20, 30 armed men in trucks,

driving by with chainsaws, heading towards the woods.

One truck after another comes down from the hills with the timber.

They were after the core area.

The core area is an untouchable zone.

It's the home of the monarch butterfly.

Once the forest is cleared, they burn it.

This land erodes,

and they change how it's used.

It's unsuitable to plant pine trees.

It can be used for growing whatever else you want,

which is usually avocado.

And this is how organized crime groups earn additional income,

by promoting avocado production

in areas they exploited illegally and took away from someone.

Nowadays, many organized crime groups

own hectares of avocado plantations.

In the last decade,

the demand for avocado has led to an expansion into the natural reserve.

It's challenging to contain this shift

from protected forest to avocado monocropping.

I don't mean a shift to avocado crops

would necessarily affect the butterfly, but what we have now does

because it also requires a lot of water.

So, they start creating agricultural plots and stealing the groundwater.

This water comes from the monarch butterfly forests

and affects both human and non-human communities, including the butterfly.

Homero was worried

because every other day, there was yet another forest fire.

He'd say,

"The drug traffickers hit us."

"They're gonna start charging us for everything, even for our forests."

And he said that, as long as he was alive,

he wouldn't allow organized crime to penetrate the community.

They all know each other.

If you live there and file a complaint,

they find out and come after you no matter what,

after you or your family.

"I have a serious problem

which I don't think I'll be able to solve."

Those were his words.

El Rosario Sanctuary has been abandoned.

Homero Gómez pointed out that a lack of safety

reduced the number of visitors by almost 70%.

We don't allow logging.

We risk our lives.

And instead of listening to us or assisting us, we're repressed.

Homero became his own promotional agency.

He'd talk as easily to local or national media

as to international organizations.

He knew that, through the press,

with the international spotlight

from state and nationwide media,

he could have a bigger impact.

The monarch butterfly sanctuary is painfully threatened

by the illegal logging of up to 500 trees per day.

Every year, prime-time news broadcasts

report the arrival of the monarch butterfly.

But in doing so, they'd also shed light on the dark side of the story,

the deforestation of the biosphere reserve.

They'd interview Homero regularly.

There were threats of illegal logging,

but the townsfolk got together and stopped it.

After that, we've detained people.

He'd inform us about things, "They've arrived."

And we'd see how the homicide rate increased in the region,

the kidnappings, abductions.

He would say this off camera because he was careful.

Pressure by the media and Homero's social activism

pushed the authorities to crack down on organized crime members.

It forced them to carry out operations, conduct investigations,

and seize illegal logging shipments.

The drug cartels in the region began getting uncomfortable

because he'd draw attention to the reserve.

In his effort to find sustenance for himself, his family, his communities,

which saw him as a leader,

he collided with organized crime groups.

In Michoacán, organized crime seeks political power.

For some reason,

they need and want to be the political structure

that controls everything.

They want to be

like Pablo Escobar.

This state's most recent governors,

at least the last four or five,

have had a direct connection to organized crime.

We will solve the safety problem!

MICHOACÁN POLICE

We'll govern Michoacán!

And we'll make Michoacán

one of Mexico's safest states!

Thank you.

Activists and politicians in Michoacán

have been making accusations in the local press

against Silvano Aureoles.

Silvano Aureoles spent millions

in building seven bunkers during his administration.

Silvano was caught supporting the Knights Templar Cartel.

Apparently, Dulce, head of the Knights Templar,

gave him two million dollars a couple of days ago.

They're saying that they gave you two million dollars.

I'm telling you, Ciro.

I'm open to an investigation.

I was very determined

to put these things in order.

I strengthened the state's capabilities.

However, at the local level,

municipalities are completely defenselessness.

These criminal groups start roaming around and putting pressure on them

for their business.

What is the business of these criminal groups?

Drug trafficking

and illegal logging.

Participating in illegal logging is a huge business.

It's very attractive.

I'd even venture to say, now more than back then,

exploiting timber illegally is more profitable than growing marijuana.

Homero and the people of El Rosario confronted them

in order to safeguard their community.

You can see in the region's neighboring communities

how their forests have been depleted.

But El Rosario preserved theirs. Why?

Thanks to Homero's tenacity and courage in confronting them.

There were even gunfights.

And on the other hand,

he and I had our disagreements.

Although I agreed with his cause, there was resistance

because he felt that we were encroaching on his political territory.

This is a great opportunity.

We can tell our neighbor

that he can plant trees

because he will receive a monthly income.

The governor could say whatever he liked in his press conferences,

but the truth is he didn't care about the monarch butterfly

and our eastern forests.

Homero would also say,

"Although he's my friend, he's ignored me. I don't get answers."

Governor Silvano made a promise, but he never honored it.

We've never seen any of them around here.

We make sure no one cuts down the trees.

We risk our lives.

The saying goes that being the drunk is not the same as being the bartender.

So, I mean,

it's not the same to be on the side of those who protest, who demand,

as it is to be on the government's side,

where you must make decisions from an official standpoint.

He'd angrily complain I was not doing what was necessary

to help as much as they wanted me to.

He took the money. The 4.5 million pesos are gone.

There's no money to pay people, no resources.

- People can't work this way. - One at a time.

Otherwise, it'll be an endless list.

So, we went to protest against Silvano.

Let's look for solutions. Let's forget the past.

We thought Silvano was his friend.

In the end, we realized he wasn't.

Film this, for the record.

And that's when they grabbed Homero and arrested him.

"If they don't set him free, we'll gather the people."

"If we're 250 people, a thousand will come."

Everyone come this way!

- Turn here. - Come this way.

Turn this way!

They let him go, we all came back.

We got to El Rosario around 3:00 a.m.

But we made it back with him.

So, in the monarch butterfly reserve, we have a powder keg

with political groups in conflict,

criminal organizations vying for control,

and a rival who challenged them, who cornered them,

who made the problem visible,

and who offered an alternative political movement.

It's historic. The butterflies have never arrived so late.

This is the result of climate change.

Northern countries endanger the monarch.

They use pesticides indiscriminately

and huge belts of transgenic corn, also killing the trees.

That's where the problem lies, a problem called Monsanto.

He always fought for us and always wanted to be our mayor.

He ran for office.

Our governor has made changes

in tourism and culture, which they never did in the past.

There are still people who are only here for a photo.

They want to be close to the governor,

but when we look for their help, they turn their backs.

I'm glad the governor is making changes.

My brother got into politics

mostly because of his activism or love for nature and the monarch butterfly.

But in reality, my brother wasn't the kind of man

who was interested in power.

He did it as social work. It was about friendship,

about helping the people, because he did many things.

And people from El Rosario know this, that's why they love him.

Because during the time he was there,

great things were accomplished that I believe will not be repeated.

When my dad ran for office,

he was kidnapped.

It was to pressure him and make it clear that he couldn't win.

They said he had to make his people vote for someone else

or to tell them not to vote.

They threatened him by saying that if he won the mayoral election,

they would go after him and his entire family.

They wanted

to negotiate.

They demanded he stop protesting and let them do their illegal logging.

They released my father at dawn.

The following day was election day.

They spent all that Saturday convincing people not to vote.

At that time, there were rumors about two abducted people.

Everything was closed

because someone was found murdered.

This area had the highest kidnapping rate at the time.

Community members were abducted and found dead the next day.

During election season, candidates would be killed.

He'd spend a lot of time next to the windows.

If a car drove by, he'd look out to see if they were coming to get him

because he was already worried.

I was kidnapped by the groups that were operating here in Michoacán,

but that didn't keep us from fighting.

JANUARY 13, 2020

That morning, he told me to wait for him,

that he wouldn't take long at this meeting.

After the meeting, he was gonna drop me off at school.

He received one call after another.

I guess they were asking him if he'd go to the town's horse races.

The person calling him was Elizabeth,

the municipal trustee.

He left the meeting to take my nephew Homero to the bus.

He called me and said,

"Tell Homero Junior I'm on my way, but grab me a shirt

because I have no time to change."

It was the town fair's last day. He said he was going to the horse races.

There were big politicians at the fair, and they were waiting for him.

So, I sent Homero Junior with his shirt on a hanger.

We were talking. He asked me about my classes next semester.

I told him about the subjects.

And then, we suddenly stopped talking.

Then I took the bus.

It was the last time I saw him.

Homero would go to the local horse tracks.

Leaders invited him.

It was

both a social and business gathering.

They're off!

He appeared in a picture on Facebook with other people.

So I thought, "He's having a good time."

It was around 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.,

and I couldn't sleep.

It was four o'clock in the morning, and he hadn't come home.

I said, "Where is he?"

My mom called me and asked if I'd heard from him

because she couldn't reach him.

So, I started calling the police.

There was no trace of my dad or his car.

I was the first one to go out looking for him.

I had a bad feeling.

When I arrived at the location where the event had taken place,

the first thing I saw was his car.

But he wasn't there.

So when I saw that,

I didn't like it at all. Something was wrong.

I called Elizabeth,

who was one of Ocampo's municipal trustees.

And she said, "Your dad was with government officials."

With Octavio Ocampo, who was a deputy at that time,

with Councilwoman Karina Alvarado.

She said I should call her.

So I called her.

She said that when they left the fair, my dad was still there.

SNACK BAR

I spent the entire day terrified and worried sick calling my dad.

The phone would ring, but no one answered.

It was January 14,

around 4:00 p.m., when someone finally answered my dad's phone.

It was a man.

He said that my father had left his phone and his tablet

at a taco stand.

He said that he took the phone home.

My dad never forgot his phone,

because it was tourist season and they'd be calling him there.

I asked the man if he knew anything.

He said my dad had walked out of their sight.

I went back home and my entire family was there.

And they told me

my dad was nowhere to be found.

I said, "I'll go look for him."

We went to the Attorney General's Office. They suggested we wait

before filing a report.

So we filed the formal complaint the next day.

PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

They called it "virtual kidnapping."

They explained to us that this happens when you're threatened over the phone.

They take the victim somewhere, like a hotel

or maybe a church,

and then coerce the victim's relatives.

They said he could be anywhere.

When they filed the report,

the authorities reacted with complete indifference,

as if underestimating the case.

They kept saying it was a virtual kidnapping,

he was out there, and they were on it.

What we see is induced apathy by the authorities

in order to coexist with criminal groups.

I did an interview.

I said harsh things.

I announced my brother's disappearance

and the attorney general's negligence in not acting.

The article was on the front page.

It was an editorial decision. It was headline news.

International organizations were joining our plea

by at least spreading the word,

pressuring the government to start looking for Homero.

PROTECTION FOR ACTIVISTS

It was important news in every aspect.

Furthermore, it was January, and the butterflies hadn't left.

Michoacán's Attorney General issued a bulletin

for the disappearance of activist Homero Gómez González.

The State Commission for Human Rights urged authorities

to intensify the search for Homero Gómez.

After that, everything was set in motion.

State officials got in touch with us,

people from the UN, the media.

I got calls from locals and friends.

The next day at 8:00 in the morning,

300 people gathered to look for him.

Then it'll be one team on this side and another on the other.

And we'll all end at the bottom of the hill.

Let's hope we're successful.

Did you already look here?

No.

The hole all the way down there is where we found the man that was kidnapped.

Someone could be there.

- Maybe. - Further down.

Those brigades were made up of locals and townsfolk

who volunteered to join the search.

- There's an opening on that side. - Okay.

It was impressive.

When we got there, all these people were waiting for us.

We were divided into groups.

Gómez González, chairman of the board of directors of El Rosario,

where the largest monarch butterfly sanctuary is located,

was last seen on Monday evening after leaving a meeting...

He disappeared from Ocampo on January 13.

There is still no indication of his whereabouts.

We began the search at the point where he was last seen.

It was a strategic search.

From there, we expanded our search to other areas.

Someone called me.

"You know we have your husband?"

Rebeca called me and said she received a call asking for a ransom.

I said, "I want to see him."

They sent me a picture

with Homero on his knees

and other men behind him dressed as soldiers

and pointing guns at Homero's head.

They said Homero was okay, that they'd return him.

They said they took him

to teach him a lesson or something.

They said if we paid, Homero would be back by noon.

We were desperate, so we thought we should pay.

My mom went out to make the deposit.

Throughout the journey, they kept calling her,

saying they were following her,

urging her to deposit the money because they were watching us closely.

They asked her for 100,000 pesos, but she ended up depositing 50,000.

The next day, they called her back.

My Uncle Amado told us to catch up with him at the prosecutor's office.

We were terrified.

They kept calling to say they were following us.

And the prosecutor told me, "Don't give them the money."

Crying, I told him,

"But they're gonna kill him."

The case was transferred to the specialized kidnapping unit.

We began using phone tracking techniques.

The calls Homero's family were receiving

were traced to a prison in Tamaulipas.

It's been two weeks since environmentalist Homero Gómez was taken.

Unfortunately, Homero's family

has fallen victim to extortion by false kidnappers.

There's no clue on the activist's whereabouts.

That line of investigation is closed,

and it's handed over to the homicide unit, which I represent.

We'd continue the investigation. However, kidnapping has been ruled out.

I have faith that we will find him,

but I hope we find him alive.

It's a delicate matter. Very unfortunate and painful.

No matter what the governor says,

even when he claims he'd give his own life for this man to appear,

the fact is he disappeared,

and the fact is that illegal sawmills

are still operating in Michoacán.

Some people said that they knew where he was being held.

We looked there but found nothing.

The police questioned those people,

but they wouldn't talk.

They were afraid.

In Michoacán, state police took control of security in Ocampo and Angangueo,

since 53 police officers from those municipalities

are being investigated for the disappearance of Homero Gómez,

activist of the monarch butterfly.

The municipal police

was supposed to be in charge of security at the horse race.

So, the first ones interrogated

were the municipality's police force.

The thing is, we have a long history here in Michoacán

of cases of forced disappearances committed by municipal police.

Michoacán's Minister of Public Security

reported that all members of the municipal police in Ocampo

have been detained for an investigation

due to their alleged ties

with criminal organizations.

Most of them said they didn't cover the event.

The three or four officers that did cover the event

declared that they left early.

POLICE ARE SUBPOENAED

STILL MISSING

Usually, when criminal groups execute a high-impact event like this,

they make arrangements.

They coordinate with local authorities.

First, because the family will react.

Second, to make sure the kidnappers can take the victim

with no police roadblocks.

This allows between 30 and 45 minutes

for the kidnappers or the murderers to escape

and avoid triggering security measures.

JANUARY 29, 2020 16 DAYS SINCE HOMERO'S DISAPPEARANCE

We were summoned to the Regional District Attorney's Office.

I was returning home, and suddenly,

a forensics patrol car sped right by me.

I grabbed my phone and turned it on.

The first thing I saw

was the news saying

that a body was found

close to the place where my father had disappeared.

On January 29, 2020, I received a call,

during which

I was asked to come to El Soldado,

close to where Homero was last seen.

They said they found a body, presumably Homero's.

I went alone.

I didn't want to alarm my family.

As it turned out, when I arrived,

the police and investigators were already there.

Make way for the emergency services.

They let me get a little closer to the well.

They called it a "pot of water." It was deep, about six meters or more.

SEMEFO FORENSIC SERVICES

He was face down.

They said we had to wait for the coroner

in order for the body to be retrieved

so I could identify it.

I felt scared, anguished.

I felt sadness, anger, rage, so many emotions.

That makes it feel like your body is floating.

I thought it might be him because of his pants.

I remembered he was wearing pants like that.

I said, "That's him."

POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS

They wouldn't let me get too close. They asked me if it was him

and then pulled me away.

It feels like a strong blow.

I didn't know how to react.

And as I walked away, my first thought was,

"How am I going to tell my family?"

Amado called me.

- I asked, "Are you sure?" - He said, "Yes."

I hugged my mom very tight.

And I said, "That's it."

At that moment,

she understood.

When they told me they had found him in the well,

I just held the Bible in my arms and said, "Thank You."

Because I'd been told

that many people are taken

and you never see them again.

Not even their bodies,

neither dead nor alive.

Back then I told God, "Thank You for giving me a body to bury

and a place to bring him flowers."

HOMERO'S BODY IS FOUND

I sent a reporter just for the day.

He went with another group of reporters.

He came back that same morning,

because we didn't have a way to report on the case properly.

HOMERO'S BODY IS FOUND

HOMERO GÓMEZ IS FOUND DEAD

Strange vans with armed men were guarding the area.

For us Michoacán journalists, now more than ever,

Michoacán is a zone of silence

because organized crime in that area retaliates

immediately against our colleagues.

They don't mess around.

After 16 days of searching, Mexican authorities

found the body of environmental activist Homero Gómez.

Environmental and human rights advocates in Mexico

claim to be living in constant risk.

Not only did our family lose a loved one,

the whole world, the monarch butterflies, and the forests

lost a great protector.

Due to his activism, Homero Gómez was receiving death threats.

He disappeared on January 13th.

In Michoacán, an alleged drowning

was the cause of death of the activist and protector of the monarch butterfly.

According to Michoacán's Attorney General,

Homero Gómez's body was found

in a water well used for agriculture.

So far, in the initial external examination of the body

with a time of death that goes back two to three weeks...

MICHOACÁN ATTORNEY GENERAL

...no external injuries were observed.

Facial and nail cyanosis are present,

characteristics typical of asphyxiation from drowning.

On behalf of the state's Attorney General's Office...

I was upset by what the attorney general said.

He said my dad's death was accidental

and that he had drowned.

So

how do you explain that my dad

had more lesions?

According to the autopsy that was done,

he'd actually suffered trauma

to the head.

We assume that the blow to the head was caused when he fell.

However, I can assure you

that the cause of death was not due to the blow.

So far, there is no evidence

indicating that his death

was caused by an act of violence.

So, the most solid hypothesis you have so far

is that Homero fell on January 13th

and his body was floating around until January the 29th?

Yes.

JANUARY 13, 14, 15

JANUARY 16, 17, 18

JANUARY 19, 20, 21, 22

JANUARY 23, 24, 25, 26

JANUARY 27, 28

From a forensic perspective,

you can tell if a person was murdered

or if they died from a fall.

By that time, the body

should have shown signs of decomposition.

CORONER

It would've had a monstrous appearance,

bulging eyes, hair loss, skin detachment,

practically unrecognizable.

He didn't even look wrinkled or disfigured.

His hands looked slightly wrinkled,

like when you submerge your hands in cold water.

I said they'd just thrown him there because he looked intact.

Even his clothes looked fine.

They looked clean.

They didn't even look messed up.

It's a very cold place, where temperatures at night

can drop to below freezing, especially in the winter.

The body was starting to decompose, but due to the climatic conditions,

it was preserved, and decomposition didn't occur.

The prosecution's version of how Homero's body was found,

the Forensic Medical Service's report on the cause of death,

even mentioned bronchoaspiration.

The attorney general dismissed the idea that it could've been a homicide.

It left us with a sense of frustration.

How could the death of someone

as important as him be reduced to a four-minute briefing?

We knew everything, how we'd found him,

and nothing matched what the attorney general said.

A lot of us sustain the theory it wasn't an accident.

It wasn't an accident. It was a murder.

The location where the body was found contradicts any alternative version.

We'd say, "They didn't look in the place where Homero was last seen."

This is the most relevant information to be able to say,

"How could Homero have been in that location for 16 days,

and they failed to search there?"

That well where he was found

his brother Juan and I had searched there.

And there was nothing.

If we consider the geographic and weather conditions

at the site where the body was found,

it's suspicious to find a body in that condition after 15 days.

The corpse was still fresh.

It couldn't have been preserved for 15 days under those conditions.

It's practically impossible.

So

everything indicates that he'd been in the water a very short time.

A very short time.

That's why we think maybe

someone held him captive somewhere.

And when they felt all that pressure from the government and the public,

maybe they went and dumped him there to mislead them.

People told us that in the well

where my father's body was found early that morning,

the well was surrounded by vehicles.

That they'd come to unload things there.

When people in the community

told the family that Homero was being held in El Soldado,

it must've been because the area's residents

know that some safe houses are in El Soldado.

In other words, people are kidnapped, taken away, and left there.

And the community knows when captured people go in and come out.

Sometimes they're members of rival cartels.

Sometimes they're leaders, as in the case of Homero.

Sometimes they're people kidnapped for a ransom.

And everyone knows who they are,

how many they are, where they're located.

That's why people had information about Homero's whereabouts,

and the authorities weren't looking here and searched elsewhere.

But they knew full well.

As a coroner, as a forensic doctor,

as a scientist in this field,

I see a poor investigation.

The Attorney General's Office is reporting

according to the data that has been verified so far.

Thank you.

If it wasn't complicity by direct involvement,

it was complicity by omission.

INTENTIONAL HOMICIDE SPECIALIZED UNIT

All signs point to it being deliberate.

But to confirm that, an extensive investigation is still needed.

This death-by-drowning case is similar to other activist cases.

Abisai Pérez Romero was found dead

in the municipality of Tula de Allende in Hidalgo.

He documented pollution in Tula.

According to the autopsy,

no signs of violence were seen.

In Chiapas, environmentalist and caretaker of a howler monkey reserve,

José Luis Álvarez,

was found dead by the Emiliano Zapata Highway,

near Calatrava.

Adán Vez Lira, environmental defender, was murdered.

He had carried out significant work to protect the ecosystems

in the central coast of Veracruz.

The Human Rights Commission

regrets the murder of Margarito Díaz González,

environmental defender and advocate for the sacred sites

of the Wixárica community.

They murdered Samir Flores, Nahuatl activist in Morelos

against the thermoelectric plant in Huexca.

Samir didn't die! The government killed him!

We are allowing environmental activists

to be murdered with impunity in Mexico.

The attorney general reported

that environmental activist Homero Gómez was found dead.

Initial reports say there are no signs of violence.

The attorney general is not excluding the possibility that he drowned.

They gave us his belongings.

He had money and his documents in his trousers.

But when I asked the agent handling the case for the car keys,

he said he didn't have car keys.

I asked, "Why didn't you investigate this?"

"They took his cellphones. They probably also took the car keys."

I was pissed off.

Days went by, and they said, "We finally found the car keys."

"They were buried there all along."

In the evidence picture, the car keys are dry,

supposedly dragged out by the machine without dirt or stains.

The keys were handed over as they were found.

They weren't tampered with, because when collecting evidence,

the forensic experts do everything with gloves,

following protocol to prevent contamination.

Then they asked me to take the car back because they'd forgotten to take pictures.

I had to take it back for them to take pictures

to have proof of how they found it.

It made no sense, since I'd been using the car for about a week

to get around and continue the search.

They took pictures of the car as if it had just been found.

And those are the photos they have as evidence.

We were in close contact with a source we had at the Attorney General's Office.

From the very beginning, we saw a lot of manipulation in Homero's case

because there were things that were simply unbelievable.

I wanted the public officials that were with my dad to be investigated.

They told us that someone had his iPad and his phone.

We said, "They have them, don't they?"

The individual with his phone

had the nerve to charge the battery and answer a call.

And as a result, the prosecution found out where the phone was.

At first, we suspected this group of public officials.

The young man with his belongings was their close associate.

He said my brother left his things behind,

and he took them so they wouldn't get lost.

He said he didn't see my brother anymore, so he took them home.

My name is Elizabeth Guzmán Vilchis.

I'm from Ocampo Municipality.

I felt guilty and kept telling myself,

"If you hadn't called him to invite him, he wouldn't have gone,

and none of this would've happened."

But, at the end of the day, you never know.

Several politician colleagues were there.

One of them was Karina Alvarado.

Also, Octavio Ocampo Córdoba, who was a deputy at the time.

My name is Octavio Ocampo.

I knew him through public life.

Homero was also a politician,

in addition to being an environmentalist and forest protector.

Horse races are very popular.

These are public events.

We had the chance to greet him at that event.

All we did was shake hands.

I probably left at around six in the evening.

It wasn't even dark yet.

We said our goodbyes. I went home, and he stayed there.

Our encounter was so brief,

I didn't even know

someone had taken his belongings.

We spent approximately two hours with Homero,

along with all the others I mentioned.

First, Octavio Ocampo started singing.

I can't remember which song.

The rest of us danced.

Then Homero and Octavio started singing another song.

In the photographs, you can see

that he had his iPad and phone with him the whole time.

He didn't even leave his devices behind to dance.

My colleagues argued that he left or forgot his devices at a drink stand.

It's weird. If we're all together,

and I see that you leave something behind,

I'd give it to you right away, right?

Why would I take it with me?

Karina was the one who took them,

and in turn, she gave them to her photographer.

We have some information about it,

but not enough to open an investigation.

About six months later,

I ran into a colleague at the Attorney General's Office.

She'd been at the event.

She said, "Guess what? They killed Karina's photographer

after all this happened."

KARINA ALVARADO'S ASSISTANT

A commander from the investigation unit told me,

"Something's troubling us."

"Karina and Deputy Octavio filed for a writ of protection. Why didn't you?"

"Why would I do that? I didn't do anything wrong."

I'm a lawyer, and I saw no benefit in filing for protection,

because after all, I had no responsibility in this.

We know that the people who were with Homero

obtained legal protection to avoid being investigated or interrogated.

Could you tell us what happened?

That is their right.

And we respect the decisions made by the authorities.

I've never filed for a writ of protection. I've never had the need to do so.

This time, I didn't need to either.

I don't understand why they filed for protection

if they had nothing to do with it,

unless they did have something to do with it.

I can firmly say it's impossible.

This colleague who was there, she's a wholesome woman.

She had nothing to do with this.

The other colleague who was there too,

I don't know if he was a deputy or mayor at the time.

He's a wholesome young man, with no ulterior motives.

Whether they were involved or not,

I mean, that would be...

I can't confirm that.

But I'm pretty convinced

there's nothing there.

When Silvano became governor,

Octavio Ocampo was a deputy.

Silvano, Octavio Ocampo, and Karina Alvarado were always together.

Why did Karina's friend have Homero's stuff?

Why did Karina and Octavio Ocampo file for a writ of protection?

Up to this point, they're not suspects.

I just wanted them to give their testimony of what had happened

because they were the last people who were with him.

Not because I thought or think they're guilty,

but because I believe

they might have information that could lead to the arrest

of the people who actually did it.

Homero was a very important figure who condemned illegal logging

as one of the main causes of damage to the reserve,

home of the monarch butterfly.

The symbol was established by the Free Trade Agreement at the time...

It was no accident.

Someone not only wanted to eliminate him,

but also wanted to send a message to any other social leader

who dares to protect the trees and the communities.

I heard that the attorney general

was going to investigate my uncles Amado and Juan.

They said it was odd that they were so concerned about the case,

that perhaps they were involved. So they were going to investigate them.

Michoacán's Attorney General's Office often engages in judicial harassment

against the relatives of a murdered victim

to deter, hinder, and prevent them from asking uncomfortable questions.

This is not the first time

Michoacán's Attorney General has resorted to this tactic

of turning the investigation against the victims

in order to make them withdraw

and stop media coverage of the case,

and ultimately, stop any pressure from being put on authorities.

I decided to stop pushing for further investigation out of fear

because, as the investigations progress,

you don't know what you're getting into.

Your family is always exposed.

That's why, to a large extent,

we decided not to demand an investigation for the sake of peace.

As you can see, there are eight volumes.

Well, you may see a pile of paper, but the work we carried out is here.

And in these files,

there is nothing

to suggest that Homero,

up to this point,

died a violent death.

Up until now, all we have

is scientific evidence that proves that Homero died

from mechanical asphyxiation via submersion.

Meaning he drowned.

The authorities' version not only doesn't make sense,

but is even dismissive,

to the point of being humiliating

to the intelligence of the media,

the readers, and Homero's memory itself.

They do this so regional DAs don't issue arrest warrants

against illegal loggers,

and so that hitmen and criminal leaders are released,

and to protect the state police that participate in guarding convoys

of illegally harvested timber.

The authorities need to get involved.

And we are talking about regional DAs and the state police.

And for this to happen, there must be an understanding

with the heads of state government.

I have no evidence, but I've no doubt in my mind

that Homero's murder was ordered by members of organized crime

because he was attracting the presence of federal authorities

and media attention

to an area where they wanted to hide their illicit activities

under a veil of darkness.

Andrés, can you explain to us if you know

who these people that are illegally logging are?

I can't answer that.

I just can't.

Do you think that if you answer, you're putting your life at risk?

Yes.

My life and the lives of my colleagues.

The loggers, the avocado growers,

and the transportation businesses are controlled by organized crime.

Locals must pay them a share of their earnings

to be allowed to work.

If any of them fail to comply,

what they've been doing until now, people get killed.

Not only within the state, but also within the municipality.

Violence continues unabated in Mexico.

Omar Colina Lanis, secretary of Ocampo, Michoacán,

and his father were shot dead

in the municipality of Zitácuaro.

Their bodies were found inside a vehicle with gunshot wounds.

Michoacán's Attorney General

is conducting the investigations on the case.

Regarding the case of the Biosphere Reserve

and the murder of Homero, it was like a butterfly effect.

Take, for example, the Super Bowl. A Super Bowl fan

buys a hot dog or a hamburger,

with avocado.

This avocado, to reach the United States,

had to pass through fake customs controls ignored by the authorities.

This avocado was produced in Michoacán,

in areas controlled by organized crime,

which, before producing avocado,

had deforested an area by illegally logging precious woods,

which in turn were defended by villagers.

In this case, like Homero.

We must break the chain at some point.

I don't know if it's in the US or in Mexico,

or if it's with the intervention of federal authorities.

Something is going wrong somewhere.

I think everything is going wrong in Michoacán.

Or as an acquaintance of mine used to say,

"Everything that could go wrong in Michoacán went even worse."

Michoacán loses almost 70,000 hectares of forest every year.

A third of them are in this region in eastern Michoacán.

And the truth is that it happens right under our noses.

Forty years after one of the most wonderful discoveries on the planet,

the monarch butterfly migration is in danger.

The monarch butterfly population

has declined by between 22% and 72%

over the past decade.

Scientists blame climate change,

pesticides, and illegal logging.

It's a fact that the monarch butterfly could disappear, never to come back.

We will continue our fight.

Our advantage is that in order to get to the reserve,

they must drive through the village.

And in the village, we stand guard. Even if they kill us all, we'll stop them.

We'll protect this place with all our might.

Just as our comrade Homero used to protect it,

we will continue his legacy.

For us as a family,

it wasn't an accident.

Where are we headed

if there's no authority

for these cases?

When we arrived with Homero, the place was full of people,

friends, family, members of various communities

waiting for him.

When I saw the hearse approaching,

I had this sensation I can't explain,

but my eyes filled with tears.

And I felt so sad knowing my dad was in the hearse.

I meant to take him in the same hearse we brought him in.

But the people didn't want that.

The people wanted to carry the coffin.

And people from everywhere started to approach.

We all surrounded him.

And he was taken one last time

to the place where he was photographed with his butterfly wings.

We can feel it! Homero is present!

Here, there, Homero will protect us!

I couldn't believe it.

In the same place where I had recently taken a picture of him,

looking so happy with his arms wide open,

he was now in that same place,

which looked totally different.

He worked tirelessly

to preserve our forests.

We searched tirelessly for him.

We want his family to know that they are not alone.

All his people are here.

We're all here.

Thank you all.

So sad.

I knew, from that moment, how much we were going to miss him.

I even cried.

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

On the Day of the Dead, we traditionally go to the cemetery

to place a wreath on the grave

and decorate the grave with flowers and other things.

HOMERO'S MOM

Unto the ages of ages, amen.

Mary, mother of grace and mother of mercy...

In life and death, pray for us.

Sacred Heart of Jesus...

In thee I trust.

Otomí and Mazahua beliefs

already referred to them as the souls of the dead.

Homero later called them "brides of the sun."

The butterflies are coming down for water.

Later, they'll be looking for flowers.

The travelers, the harvesters, the brides of the sun...

The souls of the dead.

I believe my dad comes back with the butterflies.

That's why I like to go to the sanctuary

and immerse myself among the butterflies alone.

I feel as if he's there with me.

And together we're watching all that scenery,

waiting for the sunlight to touch them

and see how all the butterflies flutter around.

I start to recall all those moments

and talk to him as if he were there with me

but recalling the past.

Oxygen.

- What do butterflies breathe? - Oxygen.

Exactly. We need trees for butterflies to be able to live.

Now, where do butterflies land?

At times, I laugh alone

because I feel like I'm talking to my dad.

Flying, flying high.

All day long.

I may not become the new Guardian of the Monarchs,

but I do want to follow in my father's footsteps.

It's what he taught me.

I wish to continue with all of this, not to leave it at that.

To make his legacy live on and grow even bigger.

I'm not afraid, because my dad always said

that whatever we do, we must do it without fear.

I am determined to do this.

IN 2022, THE MIGRATORY MONARCH BUTTERFLY WAS DECLARED ENDANGERED

THE INVESTIGATION OF HOMERO'S DEATH REMAINS OPEN

BUT NO UPDATES HAVE BEEN REPORTED

Thank you.

Let's see what information you cherry-pick.

KARINA ALVARADO REFUSED TO GIVE AN INTERVIEW

Silvano made a promise, but he never honored it.

None of them ever come around.

We make sure no one cuts down trees.

SILVANO AUREOLES IS UNDER INVESTIGATION

FOR ILLICIT GAIN, EMBEZZLEMENT, AND ORGANIZED CRIME

IN 2022, AMADO GÓMEZ WAS ELECTED OCAMPO'S MAYOR

AMADO IS PROTECTED BY GUARDS DUE THE RISK OF ATTACKS AGAINST HIM

MEXICO IS ONE OF THE DEADLIEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD FOR ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISTS

MOST OF THEIR HOMICIDES GO UNPUNISHED