Aguán News Alert | August/September 2025
Justice Delayed in the Bajo Aguán
On September 14, communities and organizations installed the Encampment Justice for Juan Lopez to honor Juan’s life and legacy, one year after his assassination. This occurred only a few days after the preliminary hearing against three accused murderers concluded after months of delays. On September 2, a judge ruled that sufficient evidence exists for the case to move forward to a public and oral trial. Community members and popular organizations continue to denounce that one year after Juan’s assassination, the Honduran government has yet to identify the persons who ordered Juan Lopez’s killing.
Furthermore, following multiple targeted killings of campesinos in July, the Honduran government finally took measures against criminal groups driving violence in the region throughout August and September. However, the government stopped short of enforcing an eviction order against “Los Cachos,” an armed group that since December 2024 has occupied a farm recuperated by the Camarones Cooperative. The Agrarian Platform denounces that for months now, “Los Cachos” has terrorized campesino communities settled near the Camarones farm with impunity from the Honduran state.
Justice for Juan Lopez, One Year Later
Stalled investigation into the intellectual authors of the murder: On August 6, a commission headed by Trujillo Bishop Jenry Ruiz, Father Ismael Moreno, and others met with Attorney General Johel Zelaya, to discuss the lack of progress made in prosecuting the intellectual authors of Juan Lopez’s murder. Father Moreno reported that he was unsatisfied with the meeting and would not be satisfied until justice was served.
Juan López investigated corruption before he was assassinated: On August 18, Contra Corriente published an article about the corruption that Juan López had investigated in the Tocoa mayor’s office before his murder. On September 15, Reporteros de Investigación also released an article discussing the political and economic interests that could be behind Juan Lopez’s murder.
Developments in the trial against perpetrators of the assassination: On August 28, the preliminary hearing against three men accused of having murdered Juan Lopez concluded. This followed multiple delays, the last of which was related to a failed attempt by defendant Óscar Alexis Guardado Alvarenga to strike a plea bargain with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. On September 2, the judge ruled that sufficient evidence existed to advance the case to trial in which each defendant will be tried for murder and association for delinquency.
Encampment Justice for Juan Lopez: In honor of the one year anniversary of Juan Lopez’s murder, community members held an encampment in Tocoa, Colon from September 8-15. During the encampment IM-Defensoras denounced attacks and intimidation against members of the Committee in Defense of Common and Public Goods. On September 14, community members remembered Juan through a church service and other activities.
U.S. Congress members demand justice: On September 12, Congressmembers McGovern, Schakowsky, and Ramirez sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting that the U.S. government support efforts to secure justice for the murder of Juan Lopez. Additionally, Representative Delia Ramírez introduced a House resolution on September 15, commemorating the one year anniversary of the assassination. See her comments on the house floor, here.
ANALYSIS
Juan Lopez: Legacy & Justice Virtual Event Series (Guapinol Resiste)
“We Are From These Places” Limited Series (La Ilimitada)
Honduras: Juan Lopez’s Legacy of Resistance in the Bajo Aguan (AraInfo)
Other News
Public Ministry confiscates criminal group assets: On August 5, the Public Prosecutor’s Office released a statement detailing the confiscation of 67 illegal assets belonging to a criminal group engaged in money laundering for drug trafficking. Among those linked to the drug trafficking group is Fredy Donaldo Mármol Vallejo, who is currently serving a sentence in the United States for drug trafficking. An investigation by Contra Corriente found that Adán Fúnez, the mayor of Tocoa, sold a property to the Pacific Corporation, which is chaired by Dionisio Mármol Chirinos. Mármol Chirinos is linked to Fredy Mármol.
Member of MUCA murdered: On August 11, Juan José Hernández Bardales, member of the Unified Peasant Movement of Aguán (MUCA in Spanish), was murdered. This is the third person linked to MUCA to be killed in the last two months.
Deferral in the eviction of a criminal group: On August 25, the Plataforma Agraria denounced that a national judge has twice deferred the carrying out of an eviction order against criminal group “Los Cachos,” who have been illegally occupying land recuperated by the Camarones Cooperative since December 24, 2024. As a result of the illegal occupation by Los Cachos, 150 families from the Camarones Cooperative have been displaced and nearby cooperatives live in a constant state of fear.
Indictment of members of Los Cachos: On September 1 and 2, a judicial hearing was held in which two members of the criminal group “Los Cachos” – Maicol Isaac Chinchilla and Lesli Filimón Escobar – were indicted for the crime of forced displacement. Chinchilla was additionally indicted on charges of unlawful privation of liberty and of causing serious injury. These indictments are related to violence against the Camarones, Tranvio, and El Chile Cooperatives during the months of December 2024-February 2025. They are the fourth and fifth persons to be indicted for these crimes.
Defamation campaign against campesinos: On September 3, the spokesperson for the Plataforma Agraria, Yoni Rivas denounced the criminalization and disinformation campaign surrounding the detention of members of the criminal group “Los Chachos”
Campesinos receive human rights award: On September 18, the Secretary of Human Rights in Honduras recognized land defenders organized with the Agrarian Platform, the Municipal Committee in Defense of Common and Public Goods, and the Coordinator of Popular Organizations in the Aguan for their labor in defense of fundamental rights.
Public Prosecutor’s Office exhumes bodies of campesinos: In September, the Regional Prosecutor's Office of the Bajo Aguán exhumed, as part of ongoing investigations, the bodies of four people who were members of cooperatives organized with the Agrarian Platform. The bodies exhumed were those of Ramón de Jesús Rivas Baquedano, Carlos Antonio Rivas, Douglas Alexander Pereira, and Juan José Hernández.
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.
