Agua Prieta pipeline

The Agua Prieta pipeline is a natural gas pipeline project by IENova (a subsidiary of San Diego based Sempra Energy) that aims to move natural gas from the U.S. state of Arizona to the northern Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa. The Yaqui Valley is fed by numerous tributaries which drain the eastern highlands as they flow from the escarpment of the Sierra Madre Occidental to the Gulf of California. The pipeline received a permit from the Mexican government approving its construction; gas distributed through the pipeline will go to the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, the national electric utility of Mexico. Once complete, the pipeline will be about 833 km long. The first portion of the pipeline that is currently undergoing construction is 505 km with 36 inches in diameter, and will transport natural gas from Sásabe to Guaymas, Sonora. The second portion of the pipeline is planned to be 330 km with 30 inches in diameter, and will transport natural gas from Guaymas to El Oro, Sinaloa. == History ==

On December 12, 2013, the Mexican lower house voted by a two-thirds majority to end government control of Mexico's oil, historically opening up the nation to private companies and foreign investments after decades of nationalized oil. While project managers hail this pipeline as the bringer of clean and low-cost energy, Loma de Bácum (the Yaqui holdout community) remain skeptical. == Opposition==

Yaqui territory is protected by the Mexican constitution and law which guarantees indigenous community land rights. Mexico, along with other Latin American countries, are signatories to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention, which guards their rights and makes an informed consultation obligatory in the case of projects that affect their territories. Many past conflicts between the Yaqui and the Mexican government have focused on control over land and water. The anti-pipeline Solidaridad Tribu Yaqui group opposes the pipeline, saying that it infringes upon the territory and autonomy of the Yaqui and is a project of government and business violence. The rollback of environmental regulations by the Trump administration has further raised fears over the pipeline. Yaqui activist Plutarco Flores, for example, told Inter Press Service (IPS), "We were not asked or informed. We want to be consulted, we want our rights to be respected. We are defending our territory, our environment." In one consultation in May 2015, the Yaqui voted against the pipeline. Following the abduction, Carlón Flores filed a complaint with the office of the Sonora state prosecutor (the Procuraduría General de Justicia del Estado en Sonora) and the State Commission on Human Rights (the Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos). Carlón Flores accuses the State Public Security Police (Policía Estatal de Seguridad Pública) of being complicit in the kidnapping. Carlón Flores told La Jornada that the masked men had seized her husband and taken him to a car that was being guarded by the State Police. == See also ==