Noted environmental and anti-corruption advocate, Juan López, was murdered in Tocoa, Honduras this past Saturday, marking the most recent assault on environmental protectors in the nation.
Despite receiving frequent death threats, López continued to voice his opinions and stand up for his cause. He was fatally shot by individuals on motorcycles as he was exiting a church service.
Leadership in Honduras has publicly condemned his murder and made promises to bring his killers to justice. However, no arrests have been made so far. Recently, López had been vocal about his desire for Tocoa’s longstanding mayor, Adán Fúnez, to step down due to alleged participation in organized crime and drug smuggling, as reported by Contrecorriente, an investigative journalism platform.
López, a local municipal representative and member of the Tocoa Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP, in its Spanish acronym), was a staunch defender of forests and rivers, often standing up against the threats that mining and hydroelectric companies posed to these natural resources. His death marks the fourth murder of a CMDBCP member in the past year.
“We vehemently denounce the horrific murder of Juan López, a distinguished protector of common and public goods, municipal councilor of Tocoa, an exemplary individual, a historical warrior, and a cherished friend,” Angélica Álvarez, the acting human rights minister of Honduras, expressed on social media. “We demand justice, a thorough investigation, and incarceration for his cowardly assassins.”
In September 2021, Honduran environmentalist Juan López is pictured at work in his home in Tocoa, Honduras. López was assassinated on September 14, 2024. (Photo: Orlando Sierra/AFP via Getty Images)
López was affiliated with the ruling Libre party, which has maintained national control since the leftist President Xiomara Castro assumed office in January 2022. Nonetheless, he did not shy away from highlighting corruption within his own party.
Recent weeks saw the party embroiled in controversy following the surfacing of a 2013 video, where Carlos Zelaya, a Libre party legislator and Castro’s brother-in-law, and Fúnez, the mayor of Tocoa and party member, are seen negotiating with suspected drug traffickers. The objective of these negotiations was to bolster Castro’s 2013 presidential campaign, which ultimately did not succeed.
Amidst the ensuing scandal, Carlos Zelaya stepped down from his office. He is the sibling of Castro’s spouse, Manuel “Mel” Zelaya, who served as the country’s leader from 2006 to 2009 and currently serves as her chief advisor. There have also been demands for President Castro herself to resign.
As the nation grappled with the aftermath of the video leak, it also sparked discourse in Tocoa, a city with over 100,000 residents located in the northern part of the country, just inland from the Atlantic Ocean. Like Carlos Zelaya, López also demanded Fúnez’s resignation.
It remains unclear which of López’s political adversaries may have ordered his assassination, although it was common knowledge that his life was in danger. He was well aware of the risks associated with his line of work. He was a tireless advocate for conserving the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers and the Carlos Escaleras nature reserve.
“If you begin to advocate for common interests in this country, you inevitably cross paths with powerful interests,” López disclosed to Agence France-Presse in 2021.
“Whenever you step outside, you always bear in mind that you cannot predict what might transpire, whether you will return home,” he further explained.
Just last year, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights initiated protective measures for 30 CMDBCP members, including López, who reported threats from a gang member, a local entrepreneur, and a representative from a mining company. Two men on motorcycles were seen in the vicinity of his home in recent months, the commission noted, as per Reuters.
Ismael Moreno, a renowned Jesuit priest and societal reformer, has called for an international commission to assist Honduran prosecutors in investigating López’s murder, citing the public’s lack of faith in the country’s institutions, as reported by Contrecorriente.
According to a recent report by Global Witness, an international watchdog, the majority of worldwide attacks on environmental protectors occur in Latin America. In 2023, despite having a relatively small population, Honduras ranked third in the world in the number of defenders killed, with 18 reported cases, trailing only Colombia and Brazil.
Similar Posts
- Green Party Loses Eco-Friendly Edge in 2024 Election, Surprising Voters!
- Elon Musk Goes Full MAGA for Trump: The Shocking True Motives Revealed!
- Shocking Report: Over 50 US Lawmakers Caught Holding Military Stocks! Conflict of Interest?
- Climate Groups Alert: Third-Party Vote May Give Trump Control of Our Planet’s Future!
- Is “Murder Club” Returning for Season 2 on M6 with Eric Cantona?
An economic reporter, Dax Everly breaks down financial trends and their impact on Americans’ daily lives.