Honduran anti-mining activist who fought to save rivers is killed

16/9/2024 6:05

        An
        environmental activist who protested mining and hydro-electric
        projects in northern Honduras in an effort to preserve tropical
        forests and rivers has been killed, police said on Sunday.
        
        Juan Lopez was shot dead on Saturday night by several men as
        he headed home in his car from church, an official told Reuters,
        speaking on condition of anonymity.
        
        Lopez belonged to the Municipal Committee for the Defense of
        Common and Public Goods, an environmental organization in the
        city of Tocoa on the country's Atlantic coast.
        
        Three other members of the group were killed last year in
        what the organization saw as retaliation, in a country that is
        one of the world's most dangerous for activists.
        
        The group had suffered threats and harassment for years amid
        efforts to preserve the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, and the
        Carlos Escaleras nature reserve, amid the growing presence of
        mining and hydro-electric companies.
        
        "We demand clear and conclusive answers, this government
        must answer for the killing of our colleague Juan Lopez," the
        group said in a post on social media.
        
        Last October, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
        granted precautionary measures in favor of 30 members of the
        group and their legal representatives, including Lopez. It urged
        the Honduras government to strengthen its protection mechanisms.
        
        According to the commission, Lopez reported numerous
        threats, including from a gang member, a local businessperson,
        and a mining company representative. Since June, two men on
        motorcycles began appearing around his home, the commission
        said.
        
        The United Nations resident coordinator in Honduras, Alice
        Shackelford, said Lopez had been threatened for his activism,
        and she praised his efforts to stand up to powerful interests.
        
        "We condemn the terrible murder of Juan Lopez, a human
        rights defender threatened for his work," she said in a post on
        social media.
        
        Latin America accounted for 85% of the world's
        environmentalists who were killed last year, according to UK
        advocacy group Global Witness, with 18 deaths registered in
        Honduras.