'He had a machete in his cheek': how Guatemala's hydropower dream turned deadly

Latin America's water wars: The people of the Ixquisis valley thought their most valuable resource would help lift their villages out of poverty. Instead, murder and violence followedRead more in this series: Murder, drought and peyote: the deadly struggle for Mexico's waterPhotographs by Nicola ZolinEvery morning, Juan Alonzo, a 35-year-old Indigenous farmer, accompanies his eldest son to work in the cardamom and corn fields along the Pojom River. Until 2017, Alonzo's father also made the journey. But on 17 January that year, Sebastián Alonzo, 68, was killed in a demonstration against a hydroelectric project in the Ixquisis valley, an oasis of rivers and plantations in north-west Guatemala.Since the tragedy, Juan has developed a stammer. Two of his four daughters sit on his lap as he visits his father's grave, remembering his prominence in the Maya-Chuj Indigenous community: "My dad was very involved in the struggle for natural resources." Juan believes it is the reason Sebastián was killed.Juan Alonzo at home with two of his daughters. His father, Sebastián, 'was very involved in the struggle for natural resources' Continue reading...