The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) organized the event “Berta Cáceres and Justice for Indigenous Peoples,” in which they spoke about the delay of the judicial measures in the murder of Berta Cáceres. Speakers included Ana Elisa Samayoa, member of the Due Process Foundation; Apolonia Agustín, representative of the Council of Mayan Peoples; Wyatt Gjullin, lawyer of Earth Rights International; Bertha Zúniga, general coordinator of COPINH and daughter of Cáceres; and Pedro Landa, representative of the Qualified Observation Mission for the Berta Cáceres Case.
Chronicle of a death foretold
Berta Cáceres (1971-2016), founder of COPINH, was an important Lenca indigenous leader and Honduran environmental activist who was murdered after receiving death threats for several years. According to Global Witness, in 2017 Honduras was one of the most dangerous countries for environmental activists. From 2010 to 2017, more than 120 people linked to the defense of the environment who opposed mining projects, logging businesses, etc., were killed by the State, private security guards or hired assassins. Cáceres had denounced on countless occasions the threats against her family and other members of COPINH (especially from the private company DESA and several government security agents protecting the DESA project). However, the police did not undertake any serious investigation in this regard. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights requested precautionary measures in her favor since 2009.
On March 2, 2016, Cáceres was murdered in her home in the town of La Esperanza. Thousands of people attended her funeral. The assassination was repudiated by then President Hernández, as well as by several international organizations such as the OAS, the UN, and the European Parliament, among others. Initially, according to COPINH, the government tried to blame the murder on Cáceres’ colleagues, which led to delays in the investigation.
The UN Committee Against Torture criticized the slowness of the investigation and the inattention of Honduran state authorities to the crime, which raised several suspicions about a possible indirect cover-up of the crime by some state authorities.
On November 29, 2018, eight people were found guilty of the murder of the environmental leader, including Sergio Rodriguez, DESA’s environment manager; Douglas Bustillo, DESA’s head of security and former army lieutenant and military specialist; Mariano Diaz Chavez, special forces major; Henry Hernandez, retired special forces sergeant; among others.
In December 2019, four of the killers (Rápalo, Torres, Duarte, and Hernández) were sentenced to 34 years in prison and 16 for attempted murder. The four intellectual authors (Castillo, Rodríguez, Bustillo, and Díaz) were sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder. However, Cáceres’ family and friends are still waiting for the sentences to be confirmed.
“The delay in sentencing is due to the interference of private companies”
According to the speakers in the August 20 forum, the Berta Cáceres case has been stalled for several months. Not only has the execution of the sentences been delayed but also, according to Berta Zúniga, several corporate media are pressuring the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Honduras. For this reason, Ana Elisa Samoya demands that the sentences be ratified as soon as possible, otherwise it would be a violation of individual guarantees (since judicial bodies must ensure that the resolutions are as fast as possible and effective).
For his part, Pedro Landa said that these delays reveal the real powers that control the judiciary in Honduras. “Economic power is linked to the justice system… In Honduras, 95% of the processes involving crimes against environmental defenders remain in impunity… The economic powers interested in destroying the environment (…) are involved in the justice system,” SAID Landa.
The event also discussed the intimidation suffered by those who seek justice for the murder of Berta Cáceres. It was emphasized that if the Honduran State continues to postpone the conviction, there will be sanctions from international bodies.
Wyatt Gjullin, of EarthRights, told attendees that the condemnation must be as severe as possible so that large companies do not repeat this type of actions that seek to violate and terrorize environmental defenders through human rights violations. “The Berta Cáceres case is part of this broader effort at the regional level so that impunity does not continue against victims who are human rights defenders,” said Gjullin.
For now, the companions, friends, and family of Berta Cáceres continue to hope that those guilty of her infamous crime will serve their sentence, despite the enormous and cruel economic apparatus that seems to have sunken its roots in the Honduran State.
