A victory for water defenders in Honduras provides hope for the future. The following article was published in the March-April 2022 issue of NewsNotes.
On Feb. 9, the Constitutional Supreme Court of Honduras overturned a lower court and threw out the conviction of six environmental defenders, members of a group known as the Guapinol 8. Two days later, the six men, all from the community of Guapinol in northern Honduras, were free, after nearly two-and-a-half years in pre-trial detention for their part in protesting a mine they say polluted the river that provides water for their community.
“While this is a significant victory for the water defenders and their families,” the Honduras Solidarity Network said in a statement, “the entire process that led to this outcome highlights the injustices imposed on civil liberties under Honduras's authoritarian post-2009 coup governments and deepened during Juan Orlando Hernández narco-dictatorship. Moreover, the blatant criminalization of the Guapinol environmental defenders demonstrates that the people of Honduras pay a high price for unfettered private investment by U.S. corporations.”
The Honduras Solidarity Network, comprised of 30 Canadian and U.S. organizations, described the persecution of the Guapinol 8 is a “perfect example” of the damage done by private U.S. companies in Honduras. “They disrespect the people. They disregard the environment. They cozy up to corrupt oligarchs who run the country.
They collude with police and judicial authorities to criminalize human and environmental defenders. And they leave a trail of physical, environmental, and emotional destruction with the ‘development’ of their megaprojects. “
Meanwhile, Vice-President Kamala Harris, who attended President Xiomara Castro's inauguration, has secured new commitments from U.S.-based multinational corporations for more private investment in Central America—more than $1.2 billion— “to sustainably address the root causes of migration by promoting economic opportunity.”
“Biden's plan is a false and misguided policy approach to addressing the root causes of migration,” the Honduran Solidarity Network said.
In light of the criminalization of the Guapinol water defenders, the Honduras Solidarity Network called for a series of reforms, including investigations in Honduras of companies accused by communities of wrong-doings, and actions by the U.S. Congress to deny funding for deals like that which V.P. Harris has put together, and an end to funding for Honduran police and military until human rights violations are addressed.
At the same time, Juan Orlando Hernández, former Honduran president, was arrested on Feb. 15, less than a month after his term ended. The arrest was in response to an extradition request from prosecutors in New York who have charged him with drug trafficking. His arrest holds out the possibility of a new era for the rule of law in Honduras.
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