This academic forum examines the intersection of organized crime, extractive industries, territorial conflicts, human rights, forced displacement, and peacebuilding in Guerrero, Mexico. Bringing together scholars, journalists, human rights defenders, policymakers, and civil society representatives, the workshop explores how criminal organizations interact with extractive economies and territorial governance in Latin America, while highlighting community resistance and strategies for protecting human rights and promoting sustainable peace.
Date: June 8, 2026
Time: 11 a.m.
Venue: Leopoldo Zea Auditorium, Tower II of the Humanities, 3rd Floor, Ciudad Universitaria, UNAM, Mexico City
Streaming: Live via the CIALC-UNAM Facebook and YouTube channels.
Organizers
The event is organized by:
Center for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean (CIALC-UNAM)
Corruption, Networks, and Transnational Crime Research Center (CONTRA), Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University
Observatory for Peace and Development
Program
11 a.m. – Welcome Remarks
Dr. Gerardo Torres Salcido, CIALC-UNAM
Opening Presentation Cartels Inc.: Drug Trafficking and Extractivism in Latin America
Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera (CONTRA, George Mason University / CIALC)
Panel 1
Time: 11:20 a.m. to 1:20 p.m.
Defending Human Rights, Territory, and Mexico’s Natural Resources
Panelists:
Alejandro Encinas (Mexico’s Ambassador to the Organization of American States)
Sergio Ocampo (Correspondent, La Jornada, Guerrero)
Sarahí Rueda Alfaro (Observatorio / ColMich)
Jorge Juárez (Fund for the Struggle for Democracy in Morelos)
Alba Patricia Hernández Soc (UAER-UNAM)
Key Reflection
Defending Territory and Human Rights in Guerrero
Time: 1:30 p.m.
Speaker: Obtilia Eugenio Manuel, recipient of the 2019 National Human Rights Award and leader of the Me’phaa Indigenous People’s Organization (OPIM)
Panel 2
Time: 5 to 7 p.m.
Forced Displacement and Peacebuilding
Panelists:
Álvaro Urreta (Observatory for Peace and Development)
Paloma Carreño (UNHCR)
Janette Carrillo Díaz (IBERO)
Libertad Argüello (UAM)
Arturo García (Coordinator of Ejido and Communal Land Commissioners of Guerrero)
