On September 13, PBI-Honduras tweeted:
“We met with #Guapinol, the San Alonso Rodríguez Foundation and COPA [the Coordination of Popular Organizations of Aguan]. Human rights defenders continue to denounce the contamination caused by the mining activities of Inversiones Los Pinares in the rivers of the area that eventually flow into the Aguán.”
They also posted on Facebook:
“Recently, we met with defenders of the Guapinol community and the Municipal Committee for Defense of Public and Public Property of Tocoa.
Despite the release of the eight defenders in March, the communities of Guapinol, San Pedro Sector and other communities of Tocoa continue to denounce the pollution caused by the mining activities of the company Inversiones Los Pinares e n the rivers of the area, which at the end they flow into the Aguán River.
We highlight the bravery of the defenders of the Municipal Committee, Copa Aguan, the Guapinol Despierta, Fundación San Alonso Rodríguez and other organizations that continue to vindicate the rights of communities affected by extractive projects.”
The Guapinol and San Pedro rivers are both tributaries of the Aguán River that flows into the Atlantic coast.
The Guapinol River defenders oppose the Inversiones Los Pinares open-pit iron oxide mine in the Montaña de Botaderos Carlos Escaleras Mejía National Park.
When the company began building an access road to the planned mine site in March 2018, the tap water in Guapinol turned brown and thick with muddy sediment.
By August 2018, the community established a Camp in Defence of Water and Life that blocked the construction of the access road.
Then in October 2018, more than 1,500 police officers and military personnel began the forceful expulsion of the protest camp and the criminalization process against the Guapinol River defenders began.
On February 9 of this year, six of the river defenders were convicted for alleged actions against the mining operation.
The next day, the Constitutional Chamber annulled their convictions and they were then released on February 24.
Lenir Pérez and Inversiones Los Pinares (ILP)
Guapinol Resists has stated: “Lenir Pérez and his wife Ana Facussé, daughter of the late Honduran oligarch and businessman Miguel Facussé, are the owners of ILP. Lenir Pérez is a businessman previously linked to the execution of construction contracts illegally granted by the government of President Hernández (Global Witness 2017).”
EFE has also reported: “Los Pinares has installed a processing plant for iron oxide pellets in the municipality of Tocoa, department of Colón and has requested an ‘expansion of the area of the concession from 100 hectares to 1,000 hectares.”
We continue to follow this situation from Canada.
