Six Mexican farmers opposed to the construction of a dam were gunned down over the weekend on their way home from a protest.

The victims belonged to a movement of small farmers displaced by the Picachos Dam project in the state of Sinaloa. They had marched to the state capital, erected a protest encampment inside the state legislature and were on their way home when their pickup truck was riddled with bullets. All six passengers were killed.

According to police, the farmers’ pickup got caught in the crossfire of a shootout between two convoys of criminals. Three other bodies were also found along the highway murder scene.

The farmers’ movement has been carrying out a series of protests for more than a year now, demanding the government pay a fair price for their expropriated land. They have faced evictions, beatings, tear gassings, and arrests by state and federal police.

Some of those displaced by the Picachos Dam marched through the state capital of Culiacán yesterday, accusing the state government of having a hand in the murders.