PBI-Honduras observes CMDBCPT press conference that demands justice for murdered Guapinol River defender Juan López

Published by Brent Patterson on October 18, 2024October 18, 2024

PBI-Honduras has posted:

“Today [October 17], we observed the press conference of Guapinol Despierta [Guapinol Wake Up] in front of the Organized Crime, Environment and Corruption Court in Tegucigalpa. 27 years after the murder of Carlos Escaleras, the Municipal Committee in Defence of the Commons and Public Goods [of Tocoa/CMDBCPT] continues to demand justice for the environment and #JusticeForJuanLópez.”

El Heraldo further reports: “Members of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Property in Tocoa demanded more arrests of the intellectual and material authors of the murder of environmentalist Juan López.”

That article adds that at the press conference outside the court “they demanded that the authorities speed up the judicial case of those arrested for the crime” of killing Lopez more than a month ago on September 14.

Photo: Guapinol River defender Juan López.

MNTV also reported: “So far, the authorities have arrested three people, identified as Óscar Alexi Guardado Alvarenga, Daniel Antonio Juárez Torres and Lenin Adonis Cruz Munguía, who are accused of being the material authors of the crime. However, the residents demand that the intellectual authors behind the murder be investigated and captured. During the demonstration, the residents of Guapinol expressed their pain and frustration through banners and slogans demanding justice for Juan López and a real commitment from the judicial system. The mobilization highlights the growing concern for the safety of environmental defenders in the country and the need to guarantee their protection.”

And Infobae reports: “Defender Roxana Romero told EFE that López’s death is ‘an environmental crime” because the activist “had been energetically denouncing all these manifestations of violence’ around the Montaña de Botaderos Carlos Escaleras National Park and the damage to the communities.”

Romero added: “Doing justice for Juan and Carlos is also doing justice for the Botaderos mountain (Carlos Escaleras) by freeing it from all these extractive projects that are taking the life of a lot of nature.”

Photo: Environmental activist Carlos Escaleras was murdered in Tocoa on October 17, 1997. The national park was named in his honour in 2016.

Committee member Leonel George also commented: “Impunity is killing us, we demand justice for the murder of comrade Juan López and also justice for the environmental crime committed in the Botaderos Carlos Escaleras Mountain National Park.”

Tu Nota also reports George stating: “‘We are here to demand justice for both the defender Juan López and for the Montaña Botaderos Carlos Escaleras National Park. One of the executives of the Pinares and Ecotek company, indicted for illegal exploitation and damage to the park, will be present. Justice must come, it is indebted to the people and the communities. It is time to generate the confidence that the citizens need.”

Photo: PBI-Honduras observes press conference, October 17, 2024.

Committee statement

The Committee states: “We reiterate that the guarantee of justice for Juan López and the guarantee of justice for the Carlos Escaleras National Park, are decisive for the protection of the members of the Municipal Committee and for the Defense of the Common and Public Goods of Tocoa and community due to the high risk in which we find ourselves for the defense of human rights.”

They further state: “We demand that the Public Prosecutor’s Office continue the investigation and prosecution of the intellectual authors whose motives continue to seriously threaten the lives of the members of the Municipal Committee and threatened communities that in defense of the National Park and its seismic source are being investigated by the mining and energy megaproject.”

And they state: “We regret that no concrete actions have been taken for more than a month after the murder for our benefit and protection, we demand the immediate implementation of all protection measures.”

Accompaniment

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has accompanied Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa (CMDBCPT) processes and Guapinol River defenders since January 2019.

Video of press conference, October 17, 2024.