Honduran anti-mining activist who fought to save rivers killed

Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Reuters
—

An environmental activist protesting mining and hydroelectric projects in northern Honduras in an effort to preserve tropical forests and rivers has been killed, police said Sunday.

Juan Lopez was shot dead Saturday evening by several men as he was driving home from church, an official told Reuters, requesting anonymity.

Lopez was a member of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Public and Common Property, 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 called retaliation, in a country that is one of the most dangerous in the world for activists.

The group has faced threats and harassment for years amid efforts to preserve the Guabinol and San Pedro rivers, and the Carlos Escaleras Nature Reserve, amid the growing presence of mining and hydroelectric companies.

“We demand clear and decisive answers. This government must take responsibility for the murder 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 to 30 members of the group and their legal representatives, including López. The commission urged the Honduran government to strengthen its protection mechanisms.

According to the commission, Lopez reported numerous threats, including from a gang member, a local businessman and a mining company representative. Since June, the commission said, two men on motorcycles have begun appearing around his home.

The UN Resident Coordinator in Honduras, Alice Shackelford, said Lopez had been threatened because of his activism, and praised his efforts to confront powerful interests.

“We condemn the horrific murder of Juan Lopez, a human rights defender who was threatened for his work,” she said in a post on social media.

According to the British advocacy organization Global Witness, 85% of environmental activists killed last year were in Latin America, with 18 deaths recorded in Honduras.