The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:
“’Without peasants, there is no food,’ asserts @cntctegucigalpa.
During a visit to the National Board’s offices, PBI had the opportunity to speak with the organization, which calls on the government to ‘adopt the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and make it binding.’ This declaration aims to guarantee the right to land and to recognize, respect, and protect the rights of those who feed the world.”
The CNTC
The National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) is a small-scale farming and trade union organization that fights for the distribution of land.
In Honduras fewer than 5% of landowners control 60% of the fertile terrain.
Canada abstains on the Rights of Peasants
At this time, we recall that Canada abstained in the vote on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas that was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2018.
PBI-Honduras has previously noted that this UN Declaration recognizes key elements such as “the right to land, to natural resources and to food sovereignty, based on the principle of equality between men and women.”
Military equipment used against defenders
On April 9, 2026, the CNTC denounced the eviction of peasant families from the ‘7 de Febrero’ farming cooperative.
At that time, the CNTC statement noted: “We condemn the excessive military and police deployment, including the use of ‘Black Mamba’ armoured combat vehicles, which were used against humble families, treating them as if they were ‘terrorists’ or highly dangerous criminals.”
Open-source research by PBI-Canada found a Contra Corriente article reporting that a delegation of senior commanders from the Honduran National Police travelled to Israel in 2022 to finalize the acquisition of 15 Black Mamba armoured vehicles. This was likely the Israel HLS & CYBER 2022 arms fair that took place November 27-29, 2022, at the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The vehicles were built in Mexico by TPS Armoring (Austin, Texas) and Epel Tácticos (Monterrey, Mexico) and exported to Honduras.
Labour affiliation
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+ labor organizations.
Accompaniment
Peace Brigades International has been accompanying the National Union of Rural Workers (CNTC) since May 2018.
Volunteer in Honduras!
To find out how to volunteer with PBI-Honduras, join our upcoming webinar on Wednesday October 14 at 1 pm ET.
This webinar will have simultaneous Spanish-English translation.
Register now here.
