3 weeks after the assassination of human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa, who had been working on their case. The two had been charged with arms transportation and cultivation of marijuana, but human rights groups charged the military with fabricating charges and torturing the ecologists, due to their peaceful actions to stop the extensive logging of the sierras of Guerrero. The case had been the focus of much national and international attention, and Mr. Montiel was awarded the prestigious Goldman award in 2000 for defense of the environment.

With the release of the two ecologists, much of this attention to the environment and the persecution of those who defend it faded. The members of the OESP that remain in the area continue to fight for the preservation of their forests, and continue to be the subject of harassment by the military and local caciques (power bosses). Four of their members are in jail due to their efforts to save the forests, while at least seven have illegitimate arrest warrants. Paula Gonzalez, a member of the OESP has paid dearly for her part in the struggle, having lost two of her sons, with another in jail and others in hiding because of warrants for their arrest. In November of 2001, the Mexican daily La Jornada reported on the delegation of several representatives of the organization who came to Mexico City demanding justice for Digna Ochoa and an end to military harassment of their communities. As recently as December of 2001, the president of the OESP, Juan Bautista Valle, denounced the intimidating presence of the military in the communities of El Zapotillal and Canalejas (El Sur, January 4, 2002).

While the big international logging companies such as U.S. giant Boise Cascade have withdrawn from the area, logging by smaller companies continues. Deforestation continues to be a huge problem in the region. According to Greenpeace Mexico, almost 40% of the forest has been lost in the last 8 years due to excessive logging; and if the logging continues at this rate, in 10 years there won't be any forests left in the Sierra de Petatlan and Coyuca de Catalan (see Greenpeace report). The Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAP) has declared that the river basins in the mountains of the Costa Grande are in "critical condition." Members of the OESP say that the rampant deforestation has led to a vast decrease in the water supply, as well as the disappearance of local fauna and flora.