On 17 March 2019, Willy René de Paz Bojorquez, 42, a member of CODECA, was murdered by two unidentified men in his business, located in Machaquilá, in the municipality of Poptún, in Petén. According to a statement made by CODECA, de Paz had been threatened because of his work on the nationalization of Energía Eléctrica in Guatemala.

De Paz Bojorquez, who had fought for the nationalization of privatized goods and services, was a land defender and fought for a popular and plurinational constituent assembly, was a member of the municipal executive committee of the Movement for the Liberation of People and was a candidate for the municipal corporation for the upcoming elections in June.

“This is the second member of CODECA that has been murdered so far this year,” the organization stated. In 2018, six members of the organization were murdered and CODECA has demanded that the Government and the “economic power” sectors stop these murders and the repression of human rights defenders and that these crimes be investigated.