Aguán News Alert | November 2025
General elections in Honduras: Emerging risks for land defenders
Image credits: COPINH.
Tocoa, Colon.- During the month of November, general elections were held in the country. Prior to the elections, the Agrarian Platform issued a statement warning of a plan to create the political conditions for an electoral coup, one that would favor the return to power of the business, political, and criminal sectors that had benefited from the 2009 coup and the narco-dictatorship. Days later, popular organizations spoke out against US interference in the electoral process and called for the consolidation of popular unity to defend the self-determination of peoples and territories.
Furthermore, the modus operandi that enables criminalization, exploitation, and plunder in Colón was once again evident. While the mayor of Tocoa, Adán Funez, hands over land titles to people who administer social media platforms which harasses leaders, campesino communities, and environmental defenders, Funez is also attempting to remove councilman Leonel George, known in the region for his environmental advocacy, from office.
Latest News
Adán Fúnez Donates Land to Social Media Page Administrators: An investigation by Contracorriente reveals that the mayor of Tocoa, Adán Fúnez, donated land to administrators of social media pages that conduct smear campaigns against leaders and grassroots, campesino, and environmental organizations in Tocoa. Among the beneficiaries are Héctor Madrid, a journalist, correspondent for several media outlets, and administrator of the Noticias de Colón HN Facebook page, and Erlin Henríquez, an evangelical pastor who also administers pages and groups on Facebook. Both received land in the municipality of Tocoa between 2015 and 2016. These same individuals have disseminated content defending various people with alleged ties to organized crime, including the criminal group Los Cachos.
Solidarity with Councilor Leonel George: On November 13, organizations held a demonstration in solidarity with Councilor Leonel George, a member of the Municipal Committee for the Common and Public Goods of Tocoa, who, along with three other councilors, has been summoned to a hearing by the Ministry of the Interior and Justice. The hearing was requested by the mayor of Tocoa, Adán Fúnez, who sought their removal from office as municipal councilors due to their absences from three consecutive regular sessions. In an interview, Leonel George described the situation as “selective persecution” and “revenge” on the part of the mayor, because the four councilors summoned to the hearing were the same ones who had denounced Adán Fúnez for abuse of power.
Image Credits: Guapinol Despierta
Organizations stand in solidarity with Municipal Councilor Leonel George.
Popular movements speak out on elections: On November 27, popular organizations and movements in Honduras issued statements regarding the general elections, reaffirming their independence and commitment to defending human rights and land, and warning of the serious risk posed by political forces seeking to return to authoritarianism, corruption, and dispossession. On November 28, the campesino movement organized in the Agrarian Platform warned of the development of media campaigns and the creation of political conditions aimed at justifying an electoral coup in the general elections.
Updates on Guapinol
Complaint against Lucky Medina for abuse of authority: On November 4, the Municipal Committee in Defense of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor’s Office against Lucky Medina, Minister of the Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment, for the alleged crimes of abuse of authority and violation of the duties of officials, for not resolving seven oppositions filed since 2020 against the Pinares-Ecotek mining megaproject.
Indictment for illegal exploitation of natural resources and damages: The Special Environmental Prosecutor's Office (FEMA) obtained a formal indictment against individuals implicated in illegal acts committed within the protected area of the Carlos Escaleras Mejía National Park during the execution of the Los Pinares/Ecotek mining project. The individuals implicated are Mario Antonio Martínez Padilla, who is presumed responsible for the crimes of illegal exploitation of natural resources and misconduct by a public official or employee. Meanwhile, Víctor Alfonso Romero Molina, José Santos Antúnez, and Santos Didi Haylock Amaya are charged with aggravated damage.
Progress in the Juan Lopez Murder Case: On November 19, the National Jurisdiction Sentencing Court for Organized Crime, Environmental Crime, and Corruption held a hearing to review the proceedings in the case related to the murder of environmentalist Juan López. Neither party filed any objections, motions to dismiss, or recusals, thus concluding this stage of the proceedings. Although the case against the alleged perpetrators is progressing, the Public Prosecutor's Office has yet to apprehend the masterminds of Juan’s murder.
Historical Context
In the 1990’s, World Bank-led structural adjustment measures transformed the Bajo Aguán region of north-east Honduras from one of the nation’s primary sources of fruits, vegetables and basic grains into an African palm oil monoculture destined for export to insatiable Global North markets. Over the course of this process, thousands of campesinos were dispossessed of their farms to make way for massive palm plantations, owned by a handful of Honduran elite.
Since then, campesino cooperatives have engaged in a multi-decade struggle to recover their land, suffering violent repression by corporate and state entities as a result. The immediate post-coup period was especially brutal, taking the lives of approximately 150 small farmers by 2014. In recent years, many more have been murdered, disappeared, and criminalized. The vast majority of these crimes remain in impunity.
