Lázaro Mendoza, an environmental activist from Paramuén, Salvador Escalante, has been reported missing after his family lost contact with him on Tuesday afternoon. Mendoza, who collaborates with Fragua Radio, departed on Tuesday morning to the community of Cuangatzio to work at a garden. Prior to his disappearance, he recorded a video in El Querendal, where he mentioned that trash collection was underway following a citizen complaint. Communication with him ceased around 3 PM, prompting his wife to alert his colleagues at Fragua Radio about his disappearance.
Lázaro Mendoza has been involved in self-defense groups in Michoacán since 2014 and has since focused on social and environmental activism in his community. He began working with the community radio station three months ago. In January 2025, members of Radio Fragua faced threats and judicial harassment from local mayor María Dayana Pérez Mendoza, who had filed a complaint against journalist Jazael Zaragoza García, although she later withdrew it.