Alfredo Norberto Mazariegos, 65, was a member of the Comité de Seguridad Ciudadana (Civil Safety Committee) of Valle Lirio, in the southern department of Retalhuleu, and of the Comité de Unidad Campesina (Committee of Campesino Unity or CUC).

He was killed on 8 August, 2018 while on his bicycle in the jurisdiction of El Palmar II of the town of La Blanca, in the Guatemalan department of San Marcos. CUC made a statement in the aftermath noting that while the Minister of the Interior spends time on tasks that weaken civil security, crimes against peasant leaders continue. The murder of Alfredo Norberto Mazariegos is a case in point.

La Vía Campesina also issued a statement, saying “CUC regrets the irreparable loss of comrade Alfredo Norberto Mazariegos Pinto, a long standing and distinguished member of the people’s struggle and member of the Comité de Seguridad Ciudadana (Civil Safety Committee) of Valle de Lirio. He was murdered by killers-for-hire, doubtless to serve the interests of of economic powers subservient to big capital … They cannot stop us from fighting for what is right, but they leave us in mourning, venting pain into our social and familial spaces. “