Alirio Sánchez was a leader in the indigenous community of Totoró, a merchant, and a traditional healer. He was passionate about traditional medicine and helped to care for the elderly in his community, in addition to his role as a peace advocate.

He was stabbed by unknown individuals on his way home from market, and later died in the University Hospital San José after being in a coma for 6 days. The indigenous community of Totoró demanded that the judicial authorities recognise the crime against Mr Sánchez and speed up the investigation to find the perpetrators of his murder.