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PBI-Canada to research links between the export of Canadian “military goods” and state violence against human rights defenders

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: A Palestinian woman protests against the complicity of weapons companies in the genocide in Palestine at the CANSEC arms show, May 2025.

Over the next five months, PBI-Canada will be researching and posting information about the export of military goods/strategic goods and technology and their impacts on the safety and security of human rights defenders in five countries.

Front Line Defenders has documented that the deadliest countries for human rights defenders in 2024 are Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Palestine, Brazil, Peru, Pakistan, Somalia, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Philippines.

Global Witness has further documented that the most dangerous countries for land and environmental defenders between 2012 and 2024 are Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, the Philippines, Honduras, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nicaragua and Peru.

From these countries, PBI-Canada will be focusing on three countries this coming year: Mexico, the Philippines and Indonesia.

And given Palestine is noted by Front Line Defenders as among the deadliest countries for human rights defenders, we will also be looking at military exports to Israel and the means by which Palestinian human rights defenders are killed.

Finally, we will be studying the export of “military goods” to the United States. This is in part because at an estimated $1 billion a year the U.S. is one of the top export destinations for Canadian-produced military goods/strategic goods and technology. Those “goods” can also then be re-exported as completed weapons to countries implicated in human rights violations and the killing of human rights defenders.

We have also chosen the United States because of increasing concerns about state violence against human rights defenders within its own borders.

Beginning in 1990, the Government of Canada has produced an annual report on “Exports of military goods and technology”. In 2024, this report is now produced as an “Annual Report on Strategic Goods and Technologies Pursuant to Section 27 of the Export and Import Permits Act”.

An initial survey of the last five years (2020 to 2024) of these reports shows that Canada has exported more than $100 million in goods and technology to Israel, about $20 million to both Mexico and Indonesia, and about $10 million to the Philippines. It could also be estimated that Canada exported about $5 billion in goods and technology to the United States during this five year period.

A focal point for this documentation of the relationship between the production of military goods and violence against human rights defenders will be the annual CANSEC arms show in Ottawa. CANSEC, billed as “Canada’s leading defence, security & emerging technology event” will take place May 27-28 this year.

The Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), the organizing body for CANSEC, has highlighted that “60+ international delegations” attend CANSEC. While CADSI does not publish a list of the countries attending CANSEC, various published sources suggest that Israel, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, and high-level representatives of the United States are present.

Watch for our research, articles, webinars, community organizing updates and more over the coming months.

PBI-Honduras observes the presentation of the report by the IACHR GIEI on the murder of COPINH co-founder Berta Cáceres

By
Brent Patterson
-

On January 12, 2026, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on social media:

“Today, we observed the presentation of the final report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) on the murder of human rights defender Berta Cáceres, related crimes, and comprehensive reparations measures. The GIEI, which was established as a result of an agreement between the State of Honduras and the IACHR and is composed of Roxanna Altholz, Pedro Biscay, and Ricardo Guzmán, concluded that ‘the murder of Berta Cáceres was a crime motivated by business interests’ that “was foreseeable and preventable.” Among other things, the GIEI established that funds disbursed by international development banks for the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project were diverted and used for the murder of Berta Cáceres. It also documented that members of the Atala family participated directly or indirectly in coordination efforts ‘in which systematic surveillance, information gathering, and monitoring of Berta Cáceres and COPINH were carried out.’”

See the executive summary and the full report here.

The coordinators of the Civic Council of Grassroots and Indigenous Organisations in Honduras (COPINH) have been accompanied by PBI-Honduras since May 2016. Berta Cáceres was killed in March 2016.

Video still: Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, general coordinator of COPINH and daughter of Berta Cáceres, speaks at the GIEI presentation this morning.

Further reading

–PBI-Canada remains attentive to COPINH’s reaction to the IACHR GIEI investigative report on the murder of Berta Cáceres (PBI-Canada, January 12, 2026)

–COPINH comments on the IACHR GIEI investigative report on the murder of Berta Cáceres (PBI-Canada, January 12, 2026).

PBI-Canada remains attentive to COPINH’s reaction to the IACHR GIEI investigative report on the murder of Berta Cáceres

By
Brent Patterson
-

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.

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Canada examines Protection Mechanisms for human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Guatemala

By
Brent Patterson
-

Photo: At a meeting with Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa in September 2025, Peace Brigades International and the Civil Society Space of Organizations (Espacio OSC) highlighted the need to strengthen the Protection Mechanism in Mexico.

PBI-Canada and PBI-Mexico began a collaborative effort in September 2025 to strengthen both the federal and state level Protection Mechanisms for human rights defenders and journalists in Mexico.

– PBI-Canada seeks to get the Protection Mechanism on the agenda of the Mexico-Canada Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (December 1, 2025)

We have also been highlighting commentary and analysis on similar Protection Mechanisms in

The articles we have posted most recently on our website include:

– Colombian environmental defender Jani Silva continues to face threats, highlights need to improve Protection Mechanism (December 8, 2025)

– PBI-Guatemala attends the presentation of new public policy for the protection of human rights defenders (November 14, 2025)

– Canada calls on Honduras to strengthen its Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders at UPR intervention at the UN in Geneva (November 12, 2025).

In previous years we have also highlighted:

– PBI-Honduras sends condolences on the murder of CNTC campesino leader and land defender Olman Garcia (August 13, 2024)

– PBI-Mexico accompanied Espacio OSC highlights Canada’s recommendation on the protection of journalists and human rights defenders (July 18, 2024)

– PBI-Honduras accompanies organizations presenting complaint about National Protection Mechanism for defenders (November 10, 2021)

– PBI-Mexico supports the Espacio OSC call on funding for the Protection Mechanism for defenders and journalists (September 30, 2020)

– Mexican journalist María Elena Ferral murdered, PBI-Mexico calls for improvements in protection mechanisms (April 9, 2020)

This year, look for PBI-Canada updates on an advocacy tour, webinars and more to amplify the demands of PBI accompanied defenders to strengthen the Protection Mechanisms that could help to save their lives.

COPINH comments on the IACHR GIEI investigative report on the murder of Berta Cáceres

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video still: Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, general coordinator of COPINH, speaks at the GIEI presentation this morning.

The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) has posted on Facebook:

“The truth they wanted to hide is about to come out.

On Monday, January 12, the GIEI [Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts] Honduras Report will be presented: an independent investigation that marks a turning point in the fight for #JusticeForBerta.

Monday, January 12

9:00 a.m. Honduras | 10:00 a.m. Washington, D.C.

Live: youtube.com/@noticiasCanal8

The truth is coming out.

Justice is not negotiable.”

This morning, COPINH has additionally posted:

“Ten years after her planting, the Group managed to clarify the truth behind the planning and execution of the murder of Berta Cáceres.

Read the full report to know all the truth: https://9ac69281-0895-4461-a8ab-fe779cfb9e33.filesusr.com/ugd/94b2ad_1bb0f67f3fab4fbcb624ecaa86856164.pdf.”

Video still.

And COPINH now highlights 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.”

Criterio.hn further reports:

“#THE LATEST~ A group of independent experts appointed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented a report revealing that the murder of Berta Cáceres was an economic crime, foreseeable and preventable, supported by an alliance between business elites, the state, and development banks.

It wasn’t just a dam: the investigation into Agua Zarca uncovers a network of offshore companies, the diversion of millions of dollars, and payments to the military, police, officials, and the media to impose the project on Lenca territory.

The report proves that money from development banks ended up financing violence, illegal surveillance, and community division in Río Blanco, while the real business leaders behind DESA remain uninvestigated.

500,000 lempiras, three checks, and an order “from above”: the money trail that connects DESA’s financial structure to the hitman who carried out the murder of Berta Cáceres.

Ten years later, the Agua Zarca concession is still in force, DESA continues to exist, and the community of Río Blanco still does not have collective title: impunity is also a form of violence against the Lenca people.”

Two days ago, El Siglo explained:

“The GIEI’s report will include findings regarding the actors responsible for the crime, as well as recommendations for the guarantee of justice and reparation, and represents a milestone on the path to justice for Berta Cáceres, her family, and the Lenca people by rigorously and independently reconstructing the truth about the murder.”

And yesterday, El Pais reported:

“In their work report, which is presented this Monday, and to which EL PAÍS has had access these days, the investigators point out that the criminal plot used funds from development credit banks, in Europe and Central America, to pay the hitmen who killed Cáceres. The GIEI details the paths of the money, the meanders and tunnels that the plot arranged to disguise its origin, until its collection in three checks, for more than half a million lempiras, about 25,000 dollars, and its final distribution among the hitmen, now imprisoned.”

That article highlights:

“[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.’”

This morning, the EU-LAT Advocacy Network also posted on LinkedIn:

“Today, the Interdisciplinary Group of International Experts (GIEI), established to investigate the murder of environmental defender Berta Cáceres, will deliver its final report to the State of Honduras, to Berta Cáceres’s family, and to the communities affected by the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project.

Monday, January 12

9:00 a.m. Honduras | 4:00 p.m. Brussels

Live: https://lnkd.in/ed4CJdwi

The GIEI, composed of three high-profile international analysts, has a direct mandate from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to conduct an independent and impartial investigation and clarify the facts surrounding the murder of the Lenca leader.

Ten years after Berta Cáceres’s murder, this new GIEI report sheds light on the financial network and the corporate and state responsibilities behind the crime.

This case is of paramount importance to the European Union and essential for the protection of human rights defenders in Honduras and throughout Latin America. The Berta Cáceres case is a beacon of hope for breaking the impunity that too often surrounds cases involving environmental defense and that weakens the rule of law and democracy.

From the EULAT Network, we urge European institutions and their Member States to continue supporting the case:

– follow-up on the recommendations presented;

– guarantees of progress in the intellectual audit investigations; and

– a comprehensive reparations plan for the affected communities, COPINH, and the family of human rights defender Berta Cáceres.

A historic opportunity to learn firsthand about the findings of the GIEI (Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts) and to reflect on the next steps to guarantee truth, justice, and non-repetition.”

We continue to follow this.

More updates to come.

Further reading: PBI-Honduras at IACHR GIEI ceremony as it begins investigation of the murder of Berta Cáceres (PBI-Canada article, February 16, 2025).

PBI-Honduras accompanies Municipal Committee and Law Firm at hearing on the murder of Juan López

By
Brent Patterson
-

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has posted on social media:

“Yesterday [January 8], we accompanied the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods and the Justice for the People Law Firm at the hearing to present evidence in the case against the alleged perpetrators of the murder of human rights defender Juan López. The judiciary scheduled the oral and public trial for June 15-26 of this year. At PBI, we reiterate the importance of advancing the investigations into the masterminds behind the crime and the mechanisms of planning, financing, and protection that allowed it to be carried out.”

López was shot dead on September 14, 2024, in Tocoa, Honduras.

Guapinol Demands Justice has shared: “Our dear colleague Juan López was a tireless defender of the rivers, mountains and forests in Honduras. He loved life and found joy in companionship and collective struggle. He fought tirelessly to end the destruction caused by illegal mining at the hands of Emco Holdings (Pinares/Ecotek) to the Carlos Escaleras National Park, and the rivers that are born there.”

And Proceso.hn has reported: “[López struggled in] defense of the Montaña de Botaderos ‘Carlos Escaleras Mejía’ National Park, opposing mining projects that threatened the water resources and common goods of the community. López had received precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) since 2023, but the Honduran state failed to provide him with effective protection, leaving him vulnerable to the threats he had publicly denounced.”

TuNota has also reported: “The defendants are Óscar Alexis Guardado Alvarenga [alleged perpetrator who fired the weapon], Daniel Antonio Juárez Torres and Lenín Adonis Cruz Munguía [accomplice who provided the motorcycle], accused of the crimes of murder and association to commit a crime, after the judge declared the request of the Public Ministry to expand the criminal offense admissible.”

That article further comments: “There is no public information that points to the intellectual authors of the murder. For environmental defenders, this absence confirms a half-justice. They warn that prosecuting only the alleged perpetrators does not dismantle the structure that allowed the crime or send a clear message of protection to those who defend the territory. On the contrary, it keeps intact the feeling of vulnerability in the communities.”

We continue to follow this and will follow from Canada the trial scheduled to take place from June 15 to 26 this year.

PBI-Honduras observes arraignment hearing against 13 environmental defenders opposed to the Agrecasa “Cantera Sapadril” mining project

By
Brent Patterson
-

On January 7, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on social media:

“Yesterday, we observed the arraignment hearing in the case against 13 people from the Medina Sector (Puerto Cortés), #criminalized for their legitimate work as #advocates in opposition to the #mining project of the Agrecasa company. The judge ordered alternative measures to imprisonment and did not authorize the eviction of the René Alemán y Pedrina Melgar Camp, located in the community of Brisas del Mar Tramade. This camp, which we visited last Sunday, is the center of resistance against the extractive project and in favor of protecting common goods.”

On the day of the arraignment hearing, Criterio.hn further reported: “The Puerto Cortés Court imposed measures other than imprisonment on thirteen residents of the Medina Sector, accused of the crime of trespassing, in a trial questioned for acting against communities protesting the destruction of the environment.”

The article continues: “[Defence lawyer Lestter] Castro pointed out that the accusation made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office is based on the obstruction made by the inhabitants of the affected communities to prevent the company Agregados del Caribe S.A. (Agrecasa) from continuing to pollute the environment and cause damage to the infrastructure of their homes.”

It also highlights: “Since April of last year, members of the communities affected by the open-pit exploitation of iron oxide have maintained a sit-in at the main entrance to the Sapadril quarry, located in Brisas de Tramades in the Medina Sector.”

And it noted that: “The lawyer of the Law Firm Studies for Dignity indicated that the date of the initial hearing was set for February 20, 2026. He pointed out that it will be during this instance when the defense will present the evidence to prove that the defendants have not committed any crime.”

The full article can be read at Juzgado impone medidas a 13 pobladores que protestan contra contaminación de cantera en Puerto Cortés (Criterio.hn, January 5, 2026).

Further reading

13 defenders criminalized, while AGRECASA continues to operate in its territory (CESPAD, November 18, 2025)

Honduran government represses community demanding that mining ceases in Puerto Cortés (ContraCorriente, May 17, 2024)

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Indigenous Community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque at religious procession

By
Brent Patterson
-

On December 31, 2025, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:

“Last week, in our last accompaniment of the year, PBI accompanied the Indigenous Community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque during the traditional procession of the Child God. The day was full of singing and spirituality, and it featured the presence of stewards from different communities, who joined in an act of solidarity and brotherhood.

The procession had the participation of the Visitor of St. Francis of Assisi. The butler and the president of the fellowship shared thoughts on the importance of strengthening the relationship between fellowships as a fundamental foundation to preserve tradition and community identity.”

PBI-Guatemala has previously explained on their website:

Location

The Indigenous Community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque is located in the municipality of the same name, in the department of Chiquimula. It belongs to the Maya Ch’orti’ people and is represented by a board of directors composed of 30 ancestral authorities elected annually by the 23 communities and 96 hamlets that make up the community.

Area of work and rights defended

Their struggle is for the land, 243 caballerías bought between 1710 and 1805, in the name of the common people and natives of San Francisco Quezaltepeque. However, the majority of these lands are not recognised by the municipality, which is why their struggle revolves around the recovery of this ancestral land. They also defend their territory against the entry of extractive projects, especially mining.

Description of the problem

The indigenous community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque is resisting a mining company working in the municipality: Minerales Sierra Pacifico S.A. This company has five exploration licenses for gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc. The Ch’orti’ people are concerned about the negative impacts of these mining activities and also about the contamination of the water of the Rio Grande by the honey water from coffee production, which could be worsened by the mining activity.

In addition, the people who make up the community and who are carrying out these demands denounce that they suffer discrimination and racism on the part of the state and municipal public institutions, who on many occasions do not attend to their demands and complaints.

These same people are receiving threats and facing different criminalisation processes for defending their territory, denouncing environmental impacts and demanding free, prior and informed consultation with the communities affected by these activities.

PBI-Canada

At PBI-Canada we continue to follow this situation.

PBI-Canada endorses APG letter to Canadian prime minister condemning US military action against Venezuela

By
Brent Patterson
-

Peace Brigades International-Canada is a member of the Americas Policy Group (APG), a network of Canadian civil society organizations working for human rights and social and environmental justice in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In this joint letter from the Americas Policy Group-Common Frontiers to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, we state: “It is with the utmost urgency that we share our alarm about the unlawful, lethal, U.S. military attack in Venezuela on January 3 and the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.”

The APG-Common Frontiers letter to the prime minister further states: “We join our many partners across Latin America, the Caribbean and beyond who are vigorously condemning the U.S. military operation of January 3, President Trump’s stated intention to ‘run Venezuela’ and sell seized Venezuelan oil, his recorded threats to send U.S. troops into Colombia and Mexico, and threats against Cuba.”

The letter reiterates the call made to the Government of Canada in this letter dated November 13, 2025, to “close the loophole that currently allows for the export of military goods to the U.S. despite the clear risk that they could be used in military operations that violate international law and human rights.”

Read more at JOINT OPEN LETTER: Canada, oppose U.S. threats to rights, sovereignty and peace in Venezuela and the Americas (January 8, 2026) and JOINT LETTER: Canada, take action to avoid complicity in unlawful U.S. airstrikes in Latin America and the Caribbean (November 13, 2025).

Further reading

PBI-Canada amplifies voices of human rights defenders following the US military action in Venezuela, threats against Colombia and Mexico (January 6, 2026)

Unifor statement on U.S. actions in Venezuela (January 7, 2026): “Unifor joins the national and international labour movement and its allies in strongly condemning the recent actions taken by the U.S. Trump Administration against Venezuela.”

KAIROS statement on U.S. attacks on Venezuela (January 6, 2026): “KAIROS joins partners in Latin America, civil society groups, the World Council of Churches and churches in Canada in strongly condemning recent U.S. military attacks on Venezuela.”

The United Church of Canada (January 3, 2026): “The United Church of Canada joins partners in Latin America and the Caribbean and the World Council of Churches in strongly condemning the US military attack on Venezuela.”

PBI-Canada congratulates the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya as ICSID arbitration panel rejects claim by US mining company

By
Brent Patterson
-

On December 24, 2025, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media: “We congratulate the members of the La Puya Peaceful Resistance for their tireless and successful struggle.”

Then on December 30, 2025, PBI-Guatemala also posted: “We congratulate the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya for defending its territory against the mining company KCA. To learn more about the context of their fight, the demand of the company and the arbitration process, we recommend reading our article: International Arbitration against the State of Guatemala: Mina el Tambor Case, published in July 2020.”

Now, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) also reports: “Water defenders from the Peaceful Resistance La Puya, just north of Guatemala City, celebrated an important victory over the holidays.”

IPS further explains: “On December 23, an arbitration panel at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ruled against Nevada-based Kappes, Cassiday, and Associates (KCA) in its nearly half a billion-dollar arbitration claim against Guatemala.”

Following the arbitration panel decision, the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya has commented: “KCA lost its wager to make millions of dollars through this international arbitration process, which it initiated knowing that it would never win the consent of communities that have always said no to its unviable project. This project is so bad that the company couldn’t even defend it in an arbitration system designed to protect the investments of transnational corporations.”

The video their media conference on December 28, 2025, can be seen here.

Peace Brigades International began accompanying the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in November 2012.

Vancouver-based Radius Gold

The story of the Peaceful Resistance begins with the Vancouver, Canada-based mining company Radius Gold securing an exploitation licence from the Guatemalan Ministry of Energy and Mines in 2011.

On March 2, 2012, area residents, who had not been consulted about this mine, set up a 24-hour a day blockade at the entrance to the mine site. Within weeks, on May 8, 2012, the women of the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya laid on the ground, sang and prayed to stop bulldozers from entering the mine.

A few months later, in August 2012, Radius Gold sold the mine to KCA.

Violent eviction of blockade

On May 23, 2014, two PBI-Guatemala field volunteers witnessed 300+ riot police carry out the violent eviction of the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya blockade of the El Tambor mine.

Video of police attack.

In February 2016, the Peaceful Resistance won a Guatemalan Supreme Court ruling to provisionally suspend the mine. By that point, the mine had already operated for almost two years.

In December 2018, Kappes, Cassiday & Associates filed a $300 million claim with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank arbitration mechanism, claiming its investor rights under the Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) had been violated.

On May 21, 2021, the court lifted that suspension, but the authorization for the mine to begin operation was not granted.

July 16, 2021: “#PBI accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in dialogue with State institutions in the framework of the international arbitration process driven by the company KCA.”

PBI-Canada visits La Puya

On Sunday May 7, 2023, PBI-Canada and PBI-Guatemala visited with Doña Licha and the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya at a roadside site that it has maintained at the entrance to the “El Tambor” Progreso VII Derivada gold mine.

Further reading

Peaceful Resistance of La Puya expects ICSID ruling in June as consultation process on El Tambor mine set to start this summer (PBI-Canada, May 16, 2023)

International Arbitration against the Guatemalan State: The El Tambor Mine Case (PBI-Guatemala, pages 10-13 in Bulletin No. 43, August 2020).

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