Aguán News Alert | May 2025
The Struggle for Justice Advances, Despite Violence Against Defenders
Tocoa, Colón, Honduras. – The month of May began with International Workers’ Day. The organized communities and popular organizations of the Aguán Valley mobilized to demand justice for Juan López, an end to the persecution of the campesino movement, and respect for workers’ rights. The Agrarian Platform, the Coordinator of Popular Organizations of the Aguán (COPA in Spanish), and the Municipal Committee in Defense of Public and Common Goods of Tocoa (CMDBCPT in Spanish) commemorated and remembered the “tireless fight for our rights, the fight of our martyrs who have offered up their lives over the years” in order to defend campesinos, water, and life.
Despite constant threats, assassinations, forced displacement, government corruption, and extractive corporations that operate with the help of criminal groups, community defenders in the Aguán stand firm in their defense of land and human rights. This May, we honor their struggle.
Latest News
IACHR expands protective measures: On May 1st, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) adopted Resolution 37/2025, which maintains protective measures already in place for Guapinol defenders and implements new protections for 13 other defenders, including family members of Juan López. Juan’s family has experienced grave threats since his assassination in September.
“Express” Environmental Licensing: On May 7th, the National Congress presented the “Special Law to Foment Investment through Efficiency in Environmental Licensing Processes”--better known as the “Express Licenses” law. The law permits the immediate approval of environmental licenses, without any process of prior consultation with impacted communities. This law could grant over 400 environmental licenses to different companies in the agroindustrial, renewable energy, and tourism sectors. There is little opposition to this law in the Congress and the public awareness period could take place the second week of June. The Environmental Commission claimed that the law includes “important safeguards” and will not apply to mining projects or projects within Indigenous lands. Despite this, national and international organizations like the OHCHR, COPINH, and CESPAD strongly condemned the law. On May 13th, members of the Agrarian Platform, the Honduran Network for the Escazú Agreement gathered to protest the law in front of the Congress.
Assassination of Alexander Pereira: During the night of May 14th, two armed men shot and killed Alexander Pereira, active member of the Tumbador Cooperative in the Guadalupe Carney, Trujillo, while he was watching over the cooperative’s store. We condemn his vile assassination and demand immediate measures to investigate and hold accountable those responsible and to protect the rights and lives of campesinos in the Aguán.
.Defamation Campaign against the CMDBCPT: On May 18th, the CMDBCPT denounced the defamation campaign carried out by Noticias Colón within the context of the court cases against Pinares-ECOTEK which seeks to stigmatize, delegitimize, and criminalize the CMDBCPT and their fight to protect common goods. They denounced that these defamation campaigns generate hate against environmental defenders, confuse the public, and derail demands for justice. The CMDBCPT demanded an investigation into these outlets and the criminal groups that are behind them.
Accompaniment of the Campesino Movement in Cortés: On May 25th, the Agrarian Platform accompanied the Viñedos Campesino Movement, located in Tegucigalpita in Omoa, Cortés. On April 20th, more than 300 campesino families organized under the Viñedos Campesino Movement entered into a process of recuperation of 2000 hectares of Agrarian Reform lands.
Shootouts in Paso Aguán: During the night of May 30th, members of the Panamá community heard sounds of a shootout coming from the Paso Aguán Cooperative, adjacent to the Rigores community, an area that has been controlled by an armed group for more than 10 years. The shootout occurred during an armed confrontation between criminal groups and resulted in an unknown number of deaths. One of the fatalities was Hipólito Hernández, a farmer known for his struggle for campesino rights. Hernández had been an active member of the El Chile Cooperative but left the cooperative during the armed attacks El Chile suffered in January. A similar shootout was heard on Sunday, May 25th. The Agrarian Platform and COPA strongly denounced the violence, mobilizing before the Public Prosecutor’s Office to demand the investigation and disarticulation of the armed group that terrorizes campesinos in the area.
Assassination of Josué Aguilar: On May 31st, Josué Esaú Aguilar Carcamo, the 22 year old son of an active member of the Gregorio Chávez Cooperative, was killed. Armed men shot him repeatedly while he was riding his motorcycle. We stand in solidarity with the family of Josué Aguilar and demand that the State of Honduras investigate this vile murder and intervene in the areas where criminal groups operate and terrorize campesinos and land defenders in the Aguán.
Justice for Campesino Families in the Bajo Aguán
The Case Against “Los Cachos” for Forced Displacement: On December 24th, 2024, the armed group “Los Cachos” invaded and displaced the Camarones Cooperative using high calibre weapons. In January 2025, “Los Cachos” then attacked the Tranvío Cooperative and displaced campesino families from 100 hectares of the El Chile Cooperative under constant gunfire. On May 7th, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, through the Bajo Aguán Violent Deaths Unit (UMVIBA in Spanish), brought charges against 15 members of the criminal structure known as “Los Cachos” for the attacks against campesino cooperatives that occurred between December and February.
On May 6th, the leader of “Los Cachos”, Juan Carlos Lizama, was arrested by the National Police on charges of forced displacement and criminal conspiracy. In the days after Lizama’s arrest, the police carried out raids in the community of Quebrada de Arena, searching for the other 14 people linked to “Los Cachos”. During their hearing, three leaders of “Los Cachos”––Juan Carlos Lizama, Pedro Flores y Mileny Lizama––were formally accused of forced displacement and possession of illegal weapons. All three received pretrial detention. Even though they all have criminal records, the court provisionally dismissed the charges regarding the crime of criminal conspiracy with the MP citing a lack of evidence. Members of the Agrarian Platform and COPA protested outside the Supreme Court of Justice during the hearings.
In a public statement, the Agrarian Platform and COPA strongly denounced that the “Los Cachos” criminal group, with links to the Dinant Corporation, has terrorized and assassinated campesinos in the Bajo Aguán for years. They also raised alarm over new threats related to the legal proceedings against “Los Cachos”, denouncing that the brother of one of the accused threatened that “there will be one dead campesino for every arrest warrant.”
ANALYSIS Bajo Aguán: requerimiento fiscal marca avance, pero campesinos temen represalias y exigen garantías (Criterio, 7 de mayo).
Legal Cases Against the Criminal Structure of Pinares-ECOTEK
The Case of Environmental Damage Against Pinares-ECOTEK: On May 13th, Judge José Rosa Sanchez issued a formal indictment of three executives of the Pinares-ECOTEK mining company––Victor Lorenzo Bernardez, Legal Representative; Fernando Padilla, Superintendent of the Environment; and Douglas Alvarenga, Superintendent of Mines––for the illegal exploitation of natural resources and environmental damages. Additionally, the judge ordered for the illegal road constructed by Pinares-ECOTEK to be closed and the relocation of the tailings dump that is currently located in an area that is not concessioned. While ruling, the judge pointed out a “conspiracy” between the Honduran institutions and the Pinares-ECOTEK company, noting the ruling against Otoniel Flores for his role in illegally authorizing the company to cut down trees. Flores is one of several government employees of the Tocoa Municipality and the Forest Conservation Institute (ICF in Spanish) accused of carrying out illegal actions to benefit the operations of the mining company. The communities organized under the CMDBCPT installed an encampment outside the Court to demand environmental justice for the Carlos Escaleras National Park and justice for Juan López. To watch the full hearing, click here.
The Case of Public Document Falsification to Benefit Pinares-ECOTEK: On May 28th, the initial hearing against Norma Agripina García, Municipal Secretary of Tocoa, and the legal representatives Kenia Cortés of Inversiones Los Pinares and José Vindel of ECOTEK, took place in the Courts of First Instance with National Jurisdiction in San Pedro Sula. They stand accused of the crimes related to the falsification of public documents in order to obtain environmental licenses as a requirement of the mining concession contract. On June 2nd, the Criminal Court with National Jurisdiction in Crime, Environment and Corruption issued a formal indictment against Norma Agripina García for the falsification of public documents and against Kenia Cortés and José Vindel for the use of falsified public documents to obtain environmental licenses in favor of Pinares-ECOTEK.
The Case of the Assassination of Land Defender Juan López: May 14th marked 8 months since the vile and cowardly assassination of the environmentalist Juan López. Even though 8 months han passed “without touching the authentic authors of the crime” (according to Jesuit Father Ismael Moreno), there are legal proceedings against three of the hitmen who carried out the murder: Óscar Alexis Guardado Alvarenga, Daniel Antonio Juárez Torres, and Lenin Adonis Cruz Munguía. The initial hearing against these accused assassins, which had been scheduled for June 3rd, was rescheduled for August 14th due to delays in obtaining evidence. The new date for the hearing will mark 11 months since Juan’s vile assassination.
