On 1 April, 2020, indigenous and environmental rights defender, seventy-two year old Juan Zamarrón Torres, was shot dead in Bocoyna in the state of Chihuahua. Armed gunmen burst into his home late in the evening and shot him dead. Two other family members were killed in the attack.

Zamarrón was a member of the Ráramuri people and had worked to protect the forests of the Sierra Tarahumara which are under threat from illegal logging. He had been repeatedly threatened because he had made an official complaint about the activities of illegal loggers in the area.

In an interview shortly before his death he had stated his intention of calling on President López Obrador to order an investigation into the links between local administration officials and the illegal loggers.

Criminal gangs who control the area have extended their activities from the production and sale of marijuana into illegal logging. In the process they target anyone who challenges their monopoly. Twenty people were killed in one two week period, including Zamarrón, who had previously been mayor of the municipality.