Photo: Miriam Miranda: “This is how the police are arriving at this moment to repress and evict the Garifuna people in the Cayos Cochinos.”
The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted an ALERT on social media warning of the “#ImminentEviction of the #Garifuna communities of Cayos Cochinos.”
Earlier today, Criterio.hn reported: “After the start of a new season of filming of the Spanish reality show Survivors during the spawning period of hawksbill turtles in Cayos Cochinos, the Garifuna people began a sit-in this week in Cayo Menor, amid repression and police and military intimidation.”
That article continues: “On September 14, the Garifuna people took up a position on a beach in Cayo Menor… The territorial defense action was responded to with the arrival of anti-riot agents from the National Police and military personnel from the Navy… Lawyer Caleb Navarro told Criterio.hn that the Garifuna leaders were evicted on the night of Monday, September 14, after being surrounded by riot police, who formed a perimeter to push them back into the sea.”
It then notes: “They had to move to another key to sleep and resupply. Currently, the protest is maintained permanently, mobilizing between keys.”
Ten minutes ago, Reportar Sin Miedo reported: “In the early hours of Thursday, September 17, agents of the National Police showed up in Cayos Cochinos with a court order to evict the approximately 40 Garifuna people who maintain a peaceful camp in the area, in defense of their ancestral territories and in rejection of the filming of the reality show “Survivors” during the sea turtle nesting season.”
La Vanguardia is also reporting: “Part of the Garifuna community, especially linked to Nueva Armenia, has long questioned the management of the Cayos Cochinos and called for greater participation in decisions affecting the territory. The issue has taken on a new dimension after the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declared the State of Honduras responsible in March 2026 for violating the rights of the Garifuna Community of Cayos Cochinos. The ruling focused, among other issues, on the lack of prior, free and informed consultation on certain actions that affect the community.”
We continue to follow this.
Photo: On October 31, 2024, PBI-Honduras and PBI-Canada visited with Mabel Robledo in Nueva Armenia on Garifuna territory in Honduras. Mabel looked out toward Cayos Cochinos and told us about the situation there.
