Honduran Anti-Mining Activist Fighting to Protect Rivers is Killed, Reports Reuters

By Gustavo Palencia

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (Reuters) – An environmental activist known for protesting mining and hydro-electric projects in northern Honduras was reportedly killed on Saturday, according to police.

Juan Lopez was shot multiple times by assailants as he drove home from church, as confirmed by a source who requested to remain anonymous.

Lopez was a member of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods, an environmental organization based in Tocoa, located on Honduras’s Atlantic coast. This group had already experienced violence, with three of its members killed last year in what they viewed as acts of retaliation in a region notorious for the dangers faced by activists.

The group has faced ongoing threats and harassment while working to protect the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, as well as the Carlos Escaleras nature reserve, in light of increasing mining and hydro-electric developments in the area.

In a statement on social media, the organization called for accountability, demanding that the government provide clear and decisive answers regarding Lopez’s murder.

Last October, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures for 30 members of the group, including Lopez, urging the Honduran government to enhance its protection mechanisms in response to documented threats against them. Lopez had reported multiple threats from individuals including a gang member, a local businessman, and a representative from a mining company. The commission also noted that two men on motorcycles had been regularly seen around his home since June.

Alice Shackelford, the United Nations resident coordinator in Honduras, expressed her concern over the threats Lopez faced due to his activism and applauded his commitment to standing up against powerful interests. She condemned the tragic murder, highlighting Lopez’s role as a defender of human rights.

According to advocacy organization Global Witness, Latin America accounted for 85% of global environmentalist deaths last year, with 18 recorded fatalities in Honduras alone.