Photo: Margarita Murillo.
The National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) has posted on social media:
On the 12th anniversary of the cowardly murder of our beloved comrade and peasant leader, Margarita Murillo, the National Federation of Rural Workers (CNTC) raises its voice with the same strength and dignity that she taught us.
Margarita was not just a leader; she was a cornerstone in the defence of the land, the territory and the human rights of the peasants of Honduras. Her entire life was dedicated to the pursuit of social justice, food sovereignty and the dignity of rural families. Her steadfastness and courage in popular struggles made her a moral beacon that the hatred and vested interests of a few sought to silence. She gave her life for a just cause, and her legacy lives on in every furrow we plough and every hectare we defend.
Twelve years on from her vile murder, impunity remains an open wound. It is outrageous that, after more than a decade, the Honduran state has failed to bring the perpetrators and masterminds of this crime to justice. The lack of concrete answers not only revictimises her family and our movement, but also sends a message of complicity with those who persecute and murder those who defend the land.
Margarita Murillo did not die; we keep her memory alive in every woman who raises her voice in the countryside, in every assembly and in every land reclamation. Her legacy was not in vain, and our memory cannot be bought or surrendered.
Margarita Murillo lives on, the struggle continues and continues!
For land, territory and social justice!
Margarita Murillo
Criterio.hn has reported: “On the morning of August 27, 2014, while Margarita Murillo was cultivating the land in the village of El Marañón, Villanueva Cortés, she was brutally murdered by hitmen who fired multiple bullets, leaving her body lying on the land she loved so much. Margarita not only lost her life, but also the voice of a tireless defender of the rights of peasant women and the environment was extinguished.”
Accompaniment
On March 3, 2026, PBI-Honduras, PBI-Canada coordinator Brent Patterson met with Franklin Almendares, General Secretary, and Rosa Santamaría, member of the National Board of Directors, of the CNTC at their office in Tegucigalpa.
The CNTC is affiliated with the Unified Confederation of Honduran Workers (CUTH) which in turn is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), along with 150+ labour organizations including the Canadian Labour Congress.
Peace Brigades International has accompanied the CNTC since May 2018.
Additional reading
– Honduras: longtime campesina leader murdered (La Via Campesina, September 11, 2014)
– IACHR Condemns Murder of Human Rights Defender in Honduras (Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, September 17, 2014)
– 12 years after the assassination of Margarita Murillo, her memory continues to flourish in the peasant and popular struggle (Defensores en Linea, August 27, 2026).
