Ángel Rochina

Ángel Rochina is an indigenous leader and environmental human rights defender of Echandia of the province of Bolívar, Ecuador. Since 2018, he has worked as a leader of his community for the defence of water, life and nature in his territory against the potential negative effects caused by the presence of Curimining mining company, subsidiary of Canadian companies Adventus Mining Corporation and Salazar Resources Corporation. Since 2019, he has assumed the presidency of the Community Front for the Defence of the Water and Life of Echandía (Frente Cantonal por la Defensa del Agua y la Vida de Echandía).

Due to his active work of defence of human rights, Ángel Rochina has been constantly crimnalized, being condemned to prison in March of 2024 for the crime of illicit association despite the lack of solid evidence against him, which has limited his work and affected him at a public and private level.