On 23 June 2017, human rights defender Eugenio López y López was killed while participating in a protest of former workers of the San Gregorio Piedra Parada estate, in Coatepeque, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
Eugenio López y López was a member of Movimiento de Ex-trabajadores de la finca San Gregorio Piedra Parada. The movement was created in 2008 when it emerged that the estate had never paid social security for its 260 workers in spite of its obligation to do so. The movement has struggled since its creation to bring justice to the workers who spent more than 30 years working in the estate and had their labour rights violated.