Guatemalan police detained three people linked to the murder of French activist Benoit Pierre Amedee Maria, which occurred in August 2020

Guatemalan police detained on Tuesday three people linked to the murder of French activist Benoit Pierre Amedee Maria, which occurred in August 2020, while he was carrying out support work for indigenous communities in the country.

The activist was a humanitarian worker and a member of the organization Veterinarians Without Borders. His assassination caused a stir, which included a message from French President Emmanuel Macron lamenting the crime.

Hilda Pineda, head of the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office, said that two men were detained because they had participated directly in the crime while a third was captured because in one of the raids carried out for the arrests they found unregistered weapons.

The prosecutor explained that on the day of the crime the activist went to work and took an alternate route to his normal route and was attacked with firearms.

“We had information that this person had refused to pay a right of way (for a used road). It was a charge that was made illegally and that he did not want to pay and apparently that was the cause of the attack,” said the prosecutor.

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