Land Defenders Arrested Amid Growing Border Wall Resistance
Press Release from Sonoran Desert Press Office
HAVANA TIMES – Three land defenders dressed in bird and jaguar costumes were arrested by Cochise County sheriffs ten miles east of Lochiel/La Noria while protesting border wall construction in the San Rafael Valley of southern Arizona. The arrests came after protesters shut down construction along a fifteen-mile stretch spanning both Cochise and Santa Cruz counties.
Witnesses present on the scene say a construction worker physically assaulted two land defenders standing in front of heavy machinery. A vehicle belonging to supporters and bystanders was illegally blocked in by work trucks before sheriffs arrived and arrested three land defenders.
In a video posted to the Instagram account Rally for the Valley, one of the arrested land defenders stated, “There are four of us that have come and halted construction. We have stopped a concrete pouring machine. We have stopped a giant crane from hauling up these giant panels. We have stopped both of those and multiple other construction doing various sorts of work. Like I said, there’s only four of us. It doesn’t take much to stop tons of work being done here.”
Over the last 49 days, land defenders have occupied an ancient cottonwood tree standing in the direct path of the planned border wall. The tree-sit was established on July 29 and has been continuously occupied since then. These cottonwood trees have been referred to as grandmothers by protestors.
Sheriffs appeared surprised to arrive to a scene of whimsical animals disrupting the construction. It should be no surprise because the land currently being razed by the Trump administration is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the most significant wildlife corridor remaining along the Arizona-Mexico border. Jaguars and Yellow-billed Cuckoos, the two costumes present at today’s construction site, are endangered animals present in the valley. Yellow-billed Cuckoos make their breeding nests June through late September in the oaks that populate the valley and are considered a highly at-risk species. The border wall threatens their critical breeding grounds.
One land defender using the name Fouquieria said, “Resistance to Trump’s double border wall is growing in the borderlands. We are fighting for life, self-determination, and freedom of movement for all living beings. If you share these convictions, you’re invited to join the fight at Camp O:Shad in Lochiel, AZ.”
CONTACT: Sonoran Desert Press Office, sonorandesertpress@proton.me