Video still: Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, general coordinator of COPINH, speaks at the GIEI presentation this morning.
On January 12, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) released their investigative report on the murder of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) co-founder Berta Caceres in March 2016.
PBI-Honduras has accompanied COPINH’s coordinators since May 2016 and was present at the ceremony when the GIEI launched its investigation in February 2025.
This morning, we note that COPINH is highlighting in this social media post: “The murder of Berta Cáceres was directly linked to the economic interests of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project, owned by the Atala Zablah family’s business group.”
COPINH has also just posted: “The GIEI revealed that the Honduran government had been aware of plans to assassinate Berta Cáceres since January 2016. Despite knowing about the plot, the government failed in its duty to protect the life of the human rights defender.”
Significantly, El Pais, which had early access to the report, reported yesterday: “[The GIEI] indicates without a doubt that at least part of the money used to pay the hitmen, 25,000 dollars, ‘originated in funds drawn by the [Dutch development credit bank] FMO and [the Central American bank] CABEI, in accordance with a payment order issued within the framework of the loan extended by those institutions.’”
The full GIEI report can be read here.
For more from COPINH, go to X, Facebook and Instagram.
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