Central American News

Honduran Election Must Not Be Stolen, Warns US Human Rights Group: Widespread Violence Feared  12/1/2017 Common Dreams: "“It is very disturbing that the ruling government has massively deployed the military across the country, which could lead to widespread violence,” says Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director of human rights advocate Grassroots International. “Now they are positioning themselves to declare victory and instilling fear in the population.”"

Población Maya-Chortí rechaza fraudulento proceso electoral  11/30/2017 Criterio: "Organizaciones indígenas del Pueblo Maya Chorti, campesinos de base y miembros de la Sociedad Civil de Copan han expresado su rechazo absoluto y categórico al proceso electoral fraudulento que legitima la continuidad del modelo de represión e incitación a la violencia y asesinatos dirigido por Juan Orlando Hernández."

Controversy about votes being "monitored"  11/30/2017 Honduras Culture and Politics: "Today. reports from Honduras indicated that the Tribunal Supremo Electoral was holding about 300,000 uncounted votes in a state of "monitoreo". They offered no explanation why. What was expressed was that these votes would not be counted before a winner was named in the now extremely tight contest between Juan Orlando Hernández and Salvador Nasralla. This alarmed international observers, who observed-- quite rightly-- that this many uncounted votes could well swing such a tight election. Both the OAS and the European Union publicly called on the TSE to count all the votes before designating a victor."

Honduras Election Fraud Alert  11/29/2017 Alliance for Global Justice: "The Alliance for Global Justice is very concerned that the democratic will of the voters of Honduras is being reversed through fraud right now. Honduras held elections for President, the National Assembly, and mayors on Sunday, November 26, 2017. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which is a separate branch of government charged with conducting elections, halted announcing returns Sunday night when with roughly 60% of ballots counted, Alliance Against Re-Election presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla was shown to be winning over incumbent National Party candidate President Juan Orlando Hernandez."

Departamento de Estados de los Estados Unidos se pronuncia sobre elecciones generales en Honduras  11/29/2017 El Heraldo, HN: "Por último, hizo un llamado a los hondureños que desde hace tres días espera los resultados de la votación. "Pedimos calma y paciencia como se tabulan los resultados", haciendo referencia a la incertidumbre que se vive en el país, puesto que el Tribunal aún no finaliza el conteo de Mesas Electorales en los diferentes niveles."

HONDURAS: PRENSA TRADICIONAL INSISTE CON FALSA TENDENCIA ELECTORAL  11/27/2017 El Libertador: "En el otro lado, el magistrado presidente del Tribunal Supremo Electoral, David Matamoros Batson, cuya hija es actual viceministra de Relaciones Exteriores, aplaude junto a representantes de observadores internacionales que las elecciones se han realizado como manda la democracia, sin embargo, en las calles las anormalidades de esta jornada están en la boca de la ciudadanía."

Human Rights Observers Report Many Irregularities  11/26/2017 teleSUR: "He also confirmed irregularities of credential trafficking at an important scale, possibly qualifying for “fraud” at the national level."

Top U.S.-Backed Honduran Security Minister Is Running Drugs, According to Court Testimony  11/26/2017 The Intercept: "Today, Pacheco remains the minister of security, in charge of the entire Honduran national police force. With hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. assistance pouring into Honduras’s security forces, Pacheco is one of the most important players in the country’s security and counternarcotics cooperation with the United States."

Graves denuncias de fraude en Honduras durante elecciones  11/26/2017 Tierra Libre: "El partido gobernante estaría cometiendo graves delitos electorales en las elecciones de hoy en Honduras, según varias denuncias por parte de la Comisión de Abogados Antifraude u otros organismos vigilantes del proceso electoral."

Is Honduras’s ruling party planning to rig an election?  11/25/2017 Economist: "By The Economist’s count, the session’s leader advocates at least five vote-rigging methods, couching them in banal terms such as “strategy” and “technique” and interspersing them with legitimate advice. The first, and the key to all the others, is for National Party representatives to obtain poll-workers’ credentials from smaller parties. This would help them outvote their rivals at the polling stations in case of disputes."

Agua con calidad: Exigen solución a los hallazgos de los PSA de Corozal y Sambo Creek.  11/20/2017 ODECO: "Se agradece el acompañamiento y apoyo de la ODECO, OPS y Gobierno de Canadá a través de la iniciativa: Abordaje Integral de los Principales Problema de Salud y sus Determinantes Sociales en la población Garífuna." [El gobierno de Canada apoya plenamente a su industria de minas, lo cual apoya a Jorgensen, Forseth, y a la mafia canadiense.]

Urgent Action: ‘Canadian tourism mafia’ file trumped up charges against Garifuna leader Miriam Miranda in Honduras’ corrupted legal system  11/17/2017 Rights Action: "A member of the ‘Canadian tourism mafia’ along Honduras’ north coast, that includes Patrick Forseth and Randy “the porn king” Jorgensen, filed trumped up charges against indigenous Garifuna leader Miriam Miranda and three other women, in Honduras’ corrupted legal system. The four must go to court, November 24, to respond to these “charges”. They potentially face up to 2-3 years in jail, and now must spend time and resources (of the few they have) to defend themselves from these manipulative charges."

“Rey del Porno” logra orden de captura contra otro dirigente garífuna  11/15/2017 Criterio: "El juzgado de letras de Trujillo, Colón ha emitido una orden de captura contra el líder garífuna, Celso Alberto Guillén Mejía, a quien por presiones del empresario canadiense, Randy Jorgensen, conocido como “Rey del Porno”, se le acusa por el delito de usurpación. Por ese mismo delito, la semana pasada fue llevada a prisión, Medelin David Hernández, activista de la comunidad garífuna y defensora de las tierras de su comunidad."

Who Ordered Killing of Honduran Activist? Evidence of Broad Plot Is Found  10/28/2017 NYT: "Now, 20 months after the killing, a team of five international lawyers has warned that the people who ordered it may never face justice. The evidence, the lawyers said, points to a plot against Ms. Cáceres that was months in the making and reached up to senior executives of Desarrollos Energéticos, known as Desa, the Honduran company holding the dam concession."

Asesinan otro defensor de los ríos en Honduras  10/15/2017 Criterio: "Las organizaciones defensores de la tierra y los ríos condenan la muerte de Silvino Zapata, que se enmarca en el contexto de asesinatos pensado en contra defensores ambientalistas, derechos humanos y activistas en defensa del pueblo."

Matan a líder garífuna afuera de su restaurante en Omoa  10/15/2017 El Heraldo: "Cinco disparos en la espalda terminaron con la vida de Silvino Zapata, líder de la comunidad garífuna. La víctima fue atacada a balazos por la espalda por dos personas desconocidas en las afueras de un restaurante de su propiedad ubicado a la orilla de la playa de la comunidad de la cual era originario, en el Litoral Atlántico del país. Zapata era propietario del restaurante Brisas del Río y un conocido defensor de los ríos del sector de Omoa."

Asesinan a balazos a defensor del medio ambiente en Honduras  10/15/2017 El Pais: "Se trata de Silvino Zapata, miembro de la comunidad Garífuna de Honduras. Desde hace varios años era el presidente del Consejo de Ancianos Garífunas y un reconocido defensor de los ríos y del medio ambiente. También era dueño de un restaurante."

Asesinan a líder del consejo de ancianos garífuna en Omoa - Diario La Prensa  10/15/2017 La Prensa: "De acuerdo a familiares, Zapata era dueño de dos restaurantes y era el presidente del consejo de ancianos de la comunidad garífuna."

NYT: Dinero del narcotráfico financia a Juan Orlando Hernández  10/14/2017 Hispan TV: "The New York Times hace referencia a declaraciones hechas por miembros de una familia hondureña que conformaban una de las redes del narcotráfico más poderosas del país centroamericano. Los Rivera Maradiaga dicen haber entregado una contribución económica para la campaña política del actual mandatario, Juan Orlando Hernández."

La Fábula de Juan y el feroz New York Times  10/9/2017 Criterio: "Interesante sin ser del todo sorprendente que -por fin- el New York Times publique la noticia de que los Rivera Maradiaga han implicado no solo a Porfirio Lobo, sino también, a Juan Orlando Hernández como beneficiarios del patrocinio criminal. ¿Por qué lo estuvo tapando? Ya lo habían publicado antes periódicos en El Salvador y en Guatemala. Y la tardanza podría estar programada."

Are Mexicans Indigenous?  10/8/2017 Truth Out: "And yet, it will be these de-Indigenized communities that will ultimately have to decide upon not simply their identity, but also their future. However Mexicans ultimately choose to identify, what is certain is that unless something radical happens, chances are very likely that they will not be accepted as full human beings by this society in the foreseeable future. Thus, will Mexicans acknowledge their future as intertwined with the recognized original peoples of this continent, or will they choose a different course?"

After 78 Killings, a Honduran Drug Lord Partners With the U.S.  10/6/2017 NYT: "The illegal drug trade in Honduras not only infected much of its civil society, including the highest levels of government and its financial sector, but also brought frightening levels of violence on its people,” Joon H. Kim, the acting United States attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement."

After 78 Killings, a Honduran Drug Lord Partners With the U.S.  10/6/2017 NYT: "In all, the drug lord, Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga, said that, working in concert with drug traffickers and others, he had “caused” the deaths of 78 people — a number that posed a dilemma for United States officials when Mr. Rivera came to them offering to expose high-level corruption in this Central American nation of some nine million people."

Hijo de expresidente de Honduras fue condenado a casi 26 años de cárcel por tráfico de cocaína  10/4/2017 CAN: "El hijo del expresidente de Honduras, Porfirio Lobo Sosa fue condenado en un tribunal de Nueva York a 24 años de cárcel y a 5 de probatoria por haber conspirado para traficar cocaína hacia los Estados Unidos. Visiblemente impactado, Fabio Lobo Lobo pidió perdón a sus padres, esposa, hijas, a Honduras y a los EEUU por haber cometido el delito que le quitará la libertad por más de dos décadas."

OFRANEH members denounced for defamation by Canadian tourism investors Patrick Daniel Forseth (Carivida Villas) and Randy Jorgensen (Life Vision Developments)  10/2/2017 Rights Action: "The proliferation of tourism and holiday-residential projects near Trujillo Bay on the Honduran Atlantic Coast, is causing high levels of tension between tourism entrepreneurs, mostly Canadian, and sectors of the Garifuna communities in the area who denounce the pillage of community lands and the increasing criminalization of social protest and the defense of territories."

Officials praise large gang roundups in US, Central America  9/28/2017 NJ Herald: "Authorities in the U.S. and Central America say they have indicted thousands of violent street gang members since March, including a powerful MS-13 leader who allegedly ordered bloodshed on the East Coast while imprisoned in El Salvador. Law enforcement officials planned to announce the arrests Friday in Miami, where Justice Department officials are meeting with attorneys general from the so-called Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras."

“Pepe” Lobo en lista de extraditables, según Adolfo Facussé  9/27/2017 Tiempo: "De acuerdo a Adolfo Facussé, empresario hondureño, el expresidente de Honduras (2010-2014), Porfirio Lobo Sosa, está en una lista de extraditables. Pero aduce que el gobierno no lo entrega porque teme un escándalo político. En ese sentido, el exdirector de la Asociación Nacional de Industriales (ANDI), dijo que “Pepe Lobo” ha sido pedido en extradición por los Estados Unidos. Pero, el gobierno se está negando a entregarlo. Lo anterior y de forma reiterativa, porque teme un escándalo político que lo puede afectar en los resultados de las elecciones de noviembre”."

Hijo de expresidente de Honduras sentenciado a 24 años de cárcel en Estados Unidos  9/7/2017 Insight Crime: "Como él mismo lo admitió, Fabio Lobo conspiró para importar enormes cantidades de cocaína a Estados Unidos", declaró en un comunicado el fiscal en funciones de Manhattan Joon H. Kim. "Con el fin de ayudar a traficantes y enriquecerse, Lobo usó el cargo de su padre y sus propias conexiones para unir a narcotraficantes con policías y funcionarios públicos corruptos. Ahora, Fabio Lobo ha sido sentenciado al sustancial periodo en prisión que sus delitos ameritan".

Aura Minerals (Canadian company) digging up cadavers in Honduras, to get at more gold - Update  9/7/2017 Rights Action: "On September 5, 2017, Toronto-based Aura Minerals – supported by the Canadian government, Honduran government and military – began digging up the first of hundreds of cadavers, to entirely empty out this most sacred of places."

Persecución contra la OFRANEH instigada por mafia Canadiense y CONATEL  9/5/2017 Ofraneh: "El día de hoy aproximadamente a las 12:30 del mediodía se apersonaron a nuestras oficinas ubicadas en la comunidad de Sambo Creek, para requerirme supuestamente por una denuncia contra mi persona, 2 miembros de la DPI, uno de ellos portando un arma automática. Aparentemente existe una persecución judicial en contra mi persona, que todo indica ha sido por las denuncias interpuestas por Patrick Forseth, Randy Jorgensen y CONATEL, creando el pretexto para que se me persiga."

Jeff Sessions' questionable claim that DACA helped cause spike in minors at border  9/5/2017 Politifact: "Why did they come then? To flee violence, primarily. Denise Gilman, director of the immigration clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, pointed to a 2014 study by Vanderbilt University’s Latin American Public Opinion Project. It surveyed residents of the three main Central American countries about their intentions to migrate and whether they had been victimized by crime in the previous 12 months. The study found that those who had been victimized were considerably more likely to consider migration than those who had not been victimized. In Honduras, for instance, 28 percent of non-victims reported having intentions to migrate, compared to almost 56 percent of those victimized more than once by crime."

Corozal ¿Cómo fue el retiro de una galera que un empresario pretendía construir en plena playa?  9/2/2017 Kenny Castillo: "El lunes por la mañana, la comunidad garífuna de Corozal desarmó una galera propiedad de un empresario ceibeño que intentaba establecer ahí un negocio de manera inconsulta. La comunidad entiende que las playas son públicas por lo tanto nadie debe hacer uso privado de ellas."

Tourism company Carivida files defamation lawsuits against Garifuna leaders defending ancestral land  8/29/2017 Business Human Rights: "The tourism & hospitality company, Carivida, filed defamation lawsuits against 4 Garifuna leaders part of the Fraternal Garifuna, Black Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH. For years, the Garifuna communities have been defending their ancestral land rights from tourism companies. Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited Carivida to respond; the response is available here."

Presidente Jimmy Morales declara “non grato” a Iván Velásquez y ordena su expulsión  8/28/2017 Prensa Libre: "El mandatario anunció a través de un mensaje grabado en video y difundido en la cuenta de tuiter del Gobierno de Guatemala la decisión de expulsar a Velásquez. Según el video, la disposición fue emitida el sábado 26 de agosto, el mismo día que Morales regresó al país de su viaje a Nueva York, donde presentó una queja en contra el jefe de la Comisión Internacional contra la Impunidad en Guatemala, (Cicig), a la cual pidió "circunscribirse" a su mandato."

Criminal trial continues against Mynor Padilla, ex-head of security for Hudbay Minerals/CGN in Guatemala  8/28/2017 Rights Action: "“We invite national and international organizations and people who defend life, water and Mother Earth to accompany us and support our participation in this appeal related to the assassination of Adolfo Ich, killed by Mynor Padilla and other security guards working for the CGN company (at that time owned and controlled by Hudbay Minerals) on September 27, 2009, and the shooting-paralyzing of German Chub, by Mynor Padilla and the same security guards on the same date."

Agradecido con la comunidad de San Juan Tela, el Patronato Pro -Mejoramiento de San Juan, y el Patro  8/27/2017 Quang Binh News: "Agradecido con la comunidad de San Juan Tela, el Patronato Pro -Mejoramiento de San Juan, y el Patronato Pro-mejoramiento De Sambo Creek en Nueva York en la ciudad de Nueva York presidido por sus respectivas Pdta Sonia Centeno Clark (San Juan) y Alma Ordóñez de #SamboCreek por haberme dado la oportunidad de Gestionar los fondos de contra parte para la Construcción de Cancha Multideportiva en la Comunidad."

Belizean Students to Benefit from Medical Scholarships in Cuba  8/26/2017 Periodico 26: "Lissette Pérez, Cuba's Ambassador to Belize, said the granting of scholarships was a program that Cuba pursued not only with Belize but with all CARICOM members."

Coup's legacy of violence, corruption in Honduras endures  8/25/2017 National Catholic Reporter: "The legacy of a military coup that toppled a democratic government in Honduras eight years ago is ever present today: spiraling high-level corruption, endemic poverty, high crime rates, state repression, terror and targeted assassinations of environmentalists, indigenous leaders and journalists."

Nubes negras alrededor de las próximas elecciones en Honduras  8/25/2017 Publico: "Desde principios del siglo XX, el sistema político hondureño se distinguió por su carácter bipartidista: por más de 100 años gobernaron alternativamente el Partido Liberal o el Partido Nacional. Durante este período, este sistema político se convirtió en uno de los más corruptos del planeta, llegando Honduras a ser calificada despectivamente como república bananera, debido al poder corruptor que las compañías bananeras extranjeras ejercían sobre ambos partidos. La llegada del dinero del narcotráfico en los años setenta, vino a corromper todavía más el ambiente político, y conllevó la consolidación de fuertes vínculos entre sectores de las élites políticas, castrenses y empresariales con los grandes cárteles de la droga a nivel nacional e internacional."

Comunidades de Pajuiles e Jilamito resisten y luchan contra la imposición de proyectos hidroeléctricos  8/18/2017 Resumen Latinoamericano: "Unas veinte comunidades del sector Mezapa y Pajuiles, en el norteño departamento de Tela, están siendo afectadas por dos proyectos hidroeléctricos. En más de una ocasión, la lucha y la resistencia de sus pobladores ha sido criminalizada y reprimida por las fuerzas de seguridad del Estado hondureño."

Inversionistas canadienses se apoderan del 70 por ciento de tierras garífunas en Santa Fe, Colón  8/17/2017 Radio Progreso: "Las comunidades garífunas de Santa Fe en Colón, al norte de Honduras, se han instalado en campamentos de recuperación de tierras, ante la venta ilegal del territorio ancestral provocada por el alcalde municipal Noel Ruiz y avalada desde el Instituto de la Propiedad a beneficio de empresarios canadienses. En Honduras existen enormes presiones territoriales sobre la costa garífuna, siendo la bahía de Trujillo en Colón y Tela en Atlántida, las más apetecidas por empresarios extranjeros, que con la ayuda de empresarios nacionales y políticos hondureños se están apoderando de las playas y humedales para la construcción de emporios turísticos."

Honduras: subasta de áreas protegidas y territorios indígenas  8/14/2017 ConexiHon

Randy Jorgensen and friends: how they steal Garifuna lands  8/12/2017 GarifunaWeb

En alerta ante la situación de violencia en Pajuiles, OACNUDH Honduras llama al diálogo y al respeto para restaurar la convivencia pacífica  8/11/2017 Defensores en Lineaas: "El pasado viernes 4 de agosto, la Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos (OACNUDH) en Honduras recibió información sobre la profundización del conflicto entre las comunidades en Tela, Atlántida que se manifiestan tanto a favor como en contra de la Central Hidroeléctrica Los Planes de la empresa Hidroeléctrica Centrales El Progreso, S.A. de C.V. (HIDROCEP)."

Honduras, por decenios bajo tres formas de criminalidad organizada  8/11/2017 NODAL: "Durante decenios, en Honduras han convivido tres formas principales de criminalidad organizada. Primero, la delincuencia de cuello blanco de la oligarquía dominante y sus asociados, cuya cara más visible es la corrupción de altos funcionarios gubernamentales afiliados a uno y otro de los dos partidos tradicionales que operan en complicidad con empresarios privados, lo que deriva en la corrupción de múltiples instituciones, entre ellas la policía. Su sede principal es Tegucigalpa. Segundo, las mafias transnacionales del narcotráfico y sus asociados locales, con asiento principal a lo largo de la costa del Caribe y en San Pedro Sula, con abundante penetración en las instituciones gubernamentales y las actividades políticas. Y tercero las maras, menores que las salvadoreñas, que eventualmente pueden prestar servicios a las dos anteriores."

Canadian tourism operator (Patrick Forseth of Carivida Villas) using corrupt Honduran legal system to “criminalize” Miriam Miranda and Indigenous Garifuna people on their lands  8/9/2017 Business Human Rights: "Once again, the Honduran criminal law system is being used against community defenders, with complaints of defamation and slander lodged against the Indigenous Garifuna community defenders Miriam Miranda (coordinator of the Fraternal Garifuna, Black Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH), and Madeline Martina David, Neny Heidy Ávila and Lety Hernández from the Guadalupe Community in Trujillo, Colón, Honduras."

Canadian tourism operator (Patrick Forseth of Carivida Villas) using corrupt Honduran legal system to “criminalize” Miriam Miranda and Indigenous Garifuna people on their lands  8/9/2017 Rights Action: "Once again, the Honduran criminal law system is being used against community defenders, with complaints of defamation and slander lodged against the Indigenous Garifuna community defenders Miriam Miranda (coordinator of the Fraternal Garifuna, Black Organization of Honduras, OFRANEH), and Madeline Martina David, Neny Heidy Ávila and Lety Hernández from the Guadalupe Community in Trujillo, Colón, Honduras. Criminal complaint have been filed against each of them by the Canadian businessman Patrick Daniel Forseth (Carivida Villas, www.carivida.com). "

Honduras: racismo, aplicación de justicia y persecución a Garífunas.  8/8/2017 OFRANEH: "La actitud de los funcionarios públicos en el país hacia los Garífunas está marcada por el desprecio. Basta recordar las palabras proferidas por el diputado Miguel Angel Gamez, a finales de marzo de 2006, cundo manifestó abiertamente “a mi me caen mal los negros”. Gámez preside en la actualidad la Alianza Publico Privadas”, ente encargado de las Zonas de Empleo Desarrollo Económico (ZEDE) conocidas también como las “ciudades modelo”, las que abarcan en su última versión mas de 20 comunidades Garífunas."

Gira Internacional Contra Congreso Minero En Honduras  8/7/2017 Habla Honduras: "Comunidades y organizaciones ambientalistas y sociales de El Salvador y Nicaragua desarrollaron una gira en Honduras en las zonas afectadas por la minería metálica. También la gira de las organizaciones se da en momentos en que la ciudad de Tegucigalpa tuvo lugar el III Congreso Internacional de Minería, un espacio patrocinado por el gobierno hondureño."

Miriam Miranda, Dirigenta de OFRANEH y Tres Defensoras Garífunas Más Son Querelladas Por Empresario Canadiense  8/6/2017 Rights Action: "Una vieja estrategia del uso del derecho penal a través de las querellas de difamación y calumnias se inició contra las defensoras garífunas Miriam Miranda, Coordinadora de la Organización Fraternal Negra de Honduras, OFRANEH, Madeline Martina David, Neny Heidy Ávila y Lety Hernández , estas últimas tres de la comunidad de Guadalupe en Trujillo, Colón Honduras. Todas ellas han sido querelladas por el empresario canadiense Patrick Daniel Forseth, en una acción judicial que se venía promoviendo en el Tribunal de Sentencia de esa localidad desde mayo de 2017."

ALERTA: Agreden al coordinador general del Movimiento Amplio. HIDROCEP culpable de los hechos  8/4/2017 Paso de Animal Grande: "Martín Fernández, coordinador general del Movimiento Amplio fue agredido y golpeado por un grupo de aproximadamente 20 personas afines y contratadas por la empresa hidroeléctrica HIDROCEP, propiedad del empresario Jason Hawit en el Sector Pajuiles, departamento de Atlántida, denunció esta organización a través de una alerta que circuló en redes sociales este 04 de agosto de 2017."

Con ataque frontal de Honduras a corrupción en la policía, indicadores de seguridad mejoran  8/3/2017 Insight Crime: "El excomisionado de policía Jorge Alberto Barralaga fue arrestado el 30 de julio junto con otras tres personas durante la Operación Perseo, según anunciaron los fiscales hondureños en un boletín de prensa. Otros tres sospechosos están prófugos."

113 environmental defenders have been killed so far in 2017  7/31/2017 Guardian: "What’s driving this violence? The short answer is: industry. The most deadly industry to go up against was mining, with 33 deaths last year relating to anti-mining activities. Agribusiness, hydroelectric dams and logging were also key drivers of violence, Global Witness found. Many of the killings recorded occurred in remote villages deep within mountain ranges and rainforests, with indigenous communities hardest hit."

ÓRDENES DE CAPTURA, ASEGURAMIENTO DE BIENES Y CONGELAMIENTO DE CUENTAS POR EL DELITO DE LAVADO DE ACTIVOS  7/31/2017 Ministerio Publico, HN: "El Ministerio Público continúa este día con la Operación Perseo, misma que inició ayer con la captura de cuatro personas entre las que se encuentra el Comisionado de Policía Jorge Alberto Barralaga, las señoras Reyna Elizabeth Ayala, Edith Xiomara Roca y Motse Paola Fraga Duarte, esta última compañera de Wilter Blanco quien fuera extraditado a los Estados Unidos días atrás."

How Afro-Nicaraguans Suffer Through the ‘Taboo’ Subject of Racism  7/30/2017 Atlanta Black Star: "“They tell you that there’s no racism, that there’s no differentiated treatment between one and another person,” Hooker recently told the Havana Times. “That makes it difficult to hold a frank and honest talk about why, if there’s no racism, those of the ‘elite’ are all the people who are ‘whitest.’ Is that a coincidence?”

Closure threats against Garifuna community radio station Radio Waruguma in Trujillo  7/28/2017 IM Defensoras: "The Waruguma community radio station, located in the city of Trujillo, received a statement from the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), issued last March 21st, in which the station is labeled as “REBELLIOUS” and said to be the property of OFRANEH. This is the second time that Radio Waruguma has received rulings aimed at closing it down. Another community radio station, Radio Sugua in Sambo Creek, had also received closure threats from CONATEL in 2014."

Tres nuevos funcionarios al gobierno  7/27/2017 La Tribuna: "De igual manera, el abogado y notario Daniel Flores Velásquez, ahora gerente regional para el Programa Honduras 20/20 en la zona de Atlántida." [Es responsible del proyecto de represa en el Rio Cuyamel cerca de Sambo Creek.]

Honduran politician pleads guilty to U.S. money laundering charge  7/25/2017 Reuters: "Rosenthal was charged in October 2015 along with his father, Jaime Rosenthal, a former vice president of Honduras, his cousin, Yankel Rosenthal, a former minister of investment under current Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez; and Andres Acosta Garcia, a lawyer for Grupo Continental. Prosecutors have said that the four men engaged in a multi-year scheme to launder proceeds of narcotics trafficking and bribery offenses through accounts located in the United States."

Donald Trump and the Coming Fall of American Empire  7/22/2017 The Intercept: interview with Alfred McCoy, author of the 'Poltics of Heroin' - "And so, the kingpin, the drug kingpin of the Bay Islands was a notorious international trafficker named Alan Hyde who had 35 ships on the high seas smuggling cocaine from Colombia into the United States. Every U.S. security agency involved, the Coast Guard, the CIA itself, the Drug Enforcement Administration, they all had reports about Alan Hyde being a Class A trafficker, arguably the biggest smuggler in the Caribbean. And to get access to his warehouses what the CIA did was they basically blocked any investigation of Alan Hyde from 1987 to 1992, during the peak of the crack-cocaine epidemic, and so the CIA got to ship their guns to his warehouses and then onward to the border post for the Contras. And Alan Hyde was given an immunity to investigation or prosecution for five years."

La comunidad garífuna de Honduras necesitaba una voz y llegó Kenny Castillo  7/18/2017 Clases de Periodismo: "“Nací en la comunidad garífuna de Corozal, Atlántida. Egresado de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (UNAH). Uno de los pocos periodistas del pueblo Garífuna. Mi trabajo periodístico inicia como reportero-redactor deportivo en Diario La Prensa a fines del año 1998. Mi gran interés por mi cultura me hizo formar parte de múltiples organizaciones con las que fungí en el ámbito de la difusión y comunicación. En 2004 fundé MundoAfroh, primer programa de Televisión dirigido y especializado en comunidad garífuna en Honduras. En el año 2009 creó mi blog http://kennycastillo.blogspot.com/, precedente de kennycastillo.com”. Así se presenta Kenny."

A medieval castle  7/18/2017 Repeating Islands: [These Caribbean soldiers, some from St Vincent, were fighting for the French against the British in 1796 and must have been allies of the Garinagu.]

Another Attack on Honduran Rights Activist  7/12/2017 Consortium Newa: "Of course, we fear for our Bertha’s life, as we did with Berta’s life. But what’s the alternative? As Berta used to say to me, “What is our alternative? Do we just sit down and take it? Of course not.”

Julieta Castellanos elude responsabilidad de la crisis universitaria y acusa al movimiento social  7/1/2017 OFRANEH: "Las declaraciones vertidas por Julieta Castellanos, actual rectora de la Universidad Nacional “Autónoma” de Honduras, a los medios de comunicación, en las cuales señala que “algunas Organizaciones No Gubernamentales (ONGs), están detrás de los movimientos estudiantiles que se toman los edificios de ciudad universitaria”. A la rectora desafortunadamente se le olvida la condición de publica que tiene la universidad, ademas de ser el alma mater, de integrantes de la sociedad civil que acompañamos al movimiento estudiantil."

In solidarity with OFRANEH and social activists in Honduras  6/28/2017 Friends of the Earth: "Recently we learned, of the criminalization of at least four members of OFRANEH (Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras)from Honduran social justice organizations, as described by Movimiento Madre Tierra – Friends of the Earth Honduras on June 19 2017."

La Trampa de los Bancos  6/22/2017 Grass Roots International: "Desde el 2013, el Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Populares e Indígenas de Honduras (COPINH) ha exigido el retiro definitivo de los bancos FMO, Finn Fund y el Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica (BCIE) del proyecto “Agua Zarca” en el sagrado Río Gualcarque, por su vinculación al despojo y muerte en la comunidad de río Blanco. Hasta la fecha, ninguno de los tres bancos ha completado su salida del proyecto, a pesar de que los bancos FMO y Finn Fund la han anunciado desde mayo de 2016."

The Bank Trap: A Statement from COPINH on the Agua Zarca Dam Investors  6/22/2017 Grass Roots International: "Since 2013, the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) has demanded the definitive withdrawal of funds from the FMO [Dutch development bank], Finn Fund [Finnish development finance company] and CABEI (Central American Bank for Economic Integration, or Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica, BCEI, in Spanish) from the Agua Zarca project on the sacred Gualcarque River because of their association with displacement and death in the Rio Blanco community. To date, none of the three banks have completed their exit from the project, although FMO and Finn Fund banks have been announcing they will withdraw since May of 2016."

Politics of Death: 'Am I next?' Deadly waiting game for Honduras land activists  6/20/2017 Reuters: "Under an International Labour Organization (ILO) agreement that Honduras signed in 1989, the government is obliged to ensure projects on indigenous lands win "free, prior and informed consent" from locals. But Honduran indigenous leaders say this rarely happens."

Is the family behind the Barro Blanco Dam caught up in a huge Honduran swindle?  6/18/2017 FaceBook: "Did the Dutch FMO bank and the German DEG bank, both largely based on the taxpayers' money in their respective countries, invest in fraud artists? We already know that they did, from the misrepresentations in the papers filed by GENISA to get permits for the Barro Blanco dam project. They falsely stated that no part of the Ngabe-Bugle Comarca would be affected, whereas in fact part of it stands to be flooded. They falsely stated that no cultural sites would be affected, whereas actually they intend to destroy ancient petroglyphs that many Ngabe consider holy and which are protected by United Nations conventions to which Panama is a party. But is the director of GENISA the same individual who is in jail in Honduras? The Panamanian system is designed to keep you from knowing for sure."

A hidden cost of corruption: environmental devastation  6/16/2017 WaPo: "Among the failings the IDB’s assessment identified, the Honduran government neither adequately consulted with nor compensated affected communities. On a trip to the area last summer, two Honduran naturalists; my sister, artist and photographer Eve Lyman; and I amply confirmed that finding. Villagers told us they signed for government distributions of rice, for example, and those signatures were later used by the state electricity company as evidence that they approved of the dam."

“They captured me for defending our collective rights.”  6/13/2017 Sierra: "Inside the efforts of Honduras’s Garifuna people to protect their ancestral lands from tourism development."

Corruption Is the 'Operating System' in Honduras: Report  6/12/2017 Insight Crime: "Chayes says that this dynamic may be intensifying under the administration of President Juan Orlando Hernández, who took office in 2014 and is currently leading the field among contenders in the presidential election scheduled for November. The report argues that Hernández has made a "strategic effort" to consolidate government power in the executive branch, thereby strenghtening a close-knit network of elites with ties to the public, private and criminal sectors that already wield disproportionate political and economic control."

Emergencia en colonias de La Ceiba por severa escasez de agua potable  6/12/2017 La Prensa: "La situación es crítica, nunca se nos había presentado una emergencia como esta; pero gracias al apoyo de Copeco e Insep estamos logrando llevar agua a estos sectores', manifestó Estrada."

Cuyamel lucha contra poderes escondidos en defensa de su derecho al agua  6/6/2017 Pasos de Animal Grande: "Con el proyecto hidroeléctrico Cuyamel II en el municipio de San Francisco, departamento de Atlántida, la empresa Compañía de Energía de San Francisco S.A, CONERSA, se violentan los derechos humanos de al menos siete mil habitantes que además de luchar por proteger su medio ambiente deben soportar los abusos del Cuarto Batallón de Infantería que pone en grave riesgo el derecho al agua , según un informe publicado recientemente en Honduras."

Backers of Honduran Dam Opposed by Murdered Activist Withdraw Funding  6/4/2017 Guardian: "The international funders behind the hydroelectric dam opposed by murdered Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres are withdrawing from the project, the Guardian can reveal."

May 2017 Honduras coup update  6/4/2017 Honduras Sunday: "On 18.5.17 in the afternoon, a community leader and member of general coordination of Ofraneh (Honduran Black Fraternal Organisation) as well as a Garifuna correspondent for Radio Progreso, Cesar Geovany Bernardez, after leaving an Ofraneh directive committee meeting, was arrested accused of usurping a land. The land he is accused of usurping is ancestral collective Garifuna land for which there was an illegal sale to the Canadian company Carivida (represented by Patrick Forseth) by the Santa Fe municipality council in 2013. In these times, an ecotourism project managed by Garifuna women of the Guadalupe community was establishing, but which had trouble establishing itself because of a wave of violence then by a group of fugitives who established themselves nearby and committed a series of killings. In 2012 when Ofraneh heard rumours of land sales, Ofraneh sent a statement to the Santa Fe council requesting that any admin processes for such sales be stopped - this was ignored. The Garifuna people have since 2008 placed charges against the Santa Fe council and in 2013 against mayor Noel Ruiz for sponsoring illegal sales of land to "involved canadians", prosecutors never followed up on these charges, but they are prosecuting Cesar Geovany Bernardez, who has been a major voice against the installation of Carivida's tourism project on their Garifuna community land. And, the community was of course never consulted about supposed development plans."

“Hay una mafia canadiense que se ha apoderado de nuestra tierra”  6/2/2017 Pasos de Animal Grande: "César Geovany Bernárdez, miembro de la coordinación general de la Organización Fraternal Negra de Honduras, Ofraneh, y corresponsal de Radio Progreso, ha sido acusado por el canadiense Patrick Forseth, de usurpar un terreno que se encuentra dentro del título de la comunidad de Guadalupe en Santa Fe, Colón."

Missing the Real Noriega Story  6/1/2017 Consortium News: "The resulting publicity created lasting myths about Noriega and drugs. Journalists who should know better have described Noriega as “one of the world’s biggest drug kingpins,” to quote Time magazine. In fact, Louis Kellner, the U.S. attorney who oversaw his Miami indictment and trial admitted, “Noriega was never a major player in the drug war.” Indeed, at worst, he was a small fry compared to the military rulers of Honduras, whose epic protection of the cocaine trade was tolerated by Washington in return for using that country as a staging base for Contra operations against the Sandinista-led government of Nicaragua in the 1980s."

Private-Sector Network Members  5/30/2017 Carnegie Endowment: "As a Patuca III critic put it, “The thing about big dams isn’t that they generate electricity. They generate money for government pockets. The developers are the biggest companies. And big companies, big money also offers big opportunities for money-laundering.”

Five Years Later, US Admits Lies About Deadly Honduran Shooting  5/26/2017 FAIR: "A Justice and State Department review reveals that top Drug Enforcement Administration officials lied repeatedly to Justice and to Congress about deadly shootings in Honduras in May 2012—including an incident off the Mosquito Coast in which a boat was fired on, killing four passengers, among them a 14-year-old boy. DEA officials long maintained, and media reported, that those killed were drug dealers who had fired first."

“Vamos a protestar porque estas tierras son nuestras”: Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas y Negras de Honduras  5/25/2017 Desinformemonos: "Bajo la lluvia del martes 23 de mayo, que refresca a Tegucigalpa más de cuatrocientas mujeres de diferentes pueblos indígenas llegaron a la sede del Stibys para encontrarse, debatir y seguir construyendo propuestas emancipatorias de sus pueblos en su condición de mujeres luchadoras que sobreviven a la opresión neoliberal, racista y patriarcal."

Letter to Sr. Juan Orlando Hernández, President of Honduras  5/25/2017 Inter Religious Task Force: "We are seriously concerned about the arrest, detention and travel ban of César Geovanni Bernardez, director of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH). Since 1978, OFRANEH has worked for the promotion of the Afro-Caribbean Garífuna people's right to self-determination through programs that support their political, social, economic and cultural advancement. Their traditional lands have been plundered through fraudulent and corrupt processes involving state agents and notary offices. The land is being falsely registered in the name of people other than the real owners and subsequently sold to foreign businesses who want to establish tourism projects in the region. OFRANEH is currently in a legal battle to secure the right of the Garífuna communities to maintain their lands."

Mujeres indígenas y negras hondureñas en defensa de su cultura, territorios y bienes comues  5/24/2017 Nicaragua y Mas: "Los días 24 y 25 de mayo se lleva a cabo el Segundo Encuentro de Mujeres Indígenas y Negras "Por la defensa de nuestra cultura, territorios y bienes comunes". Convocadas por la Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas y Negras de Honduras (Conaminh), más de 550 mujeres de 6 pueblos[1] se dieron cita en la capital hondureña para compartir sus pensamientos y estrategias de defensa de su cultura, sus territorios y los bienes comunes."

Land Rights and Racism: Challenges of the Garinagu  5/23/2017 Love FM: "The National Garifuna Council had its conference over the weekend in Hopkins Village, Stann Creek District where they took care of basic council business and reports. In addition to this, the Council also allotted a portion of their time to discuss several land issues that the Garinagu are experiencing particularly in the south. President of the National Garifuna Council, Sandra Miranda spoke to Harry Arzu on the major land problems they are looking to address."

The New (Canadian) Imperialism, in Honduras: Ideology, the News Media, Pedagogy and Pop Culture  5/23/2017 The Bullet: "Canada prefers a government like the one that took over after the coup, which cracked down on popular protest, lifted the moratorium, and invited Canadian mining companies to help write the new mining code. Not surprisingly, that new mining code didn't protect labour or the environment, making it easier for Canadian companies to steal land, build mines that poison the water supply, and take all those profits back to Bay Street without paying taxes to support the Honduran state infrastructure."

Cesar Geovany Bernardez arrested  5/22/2017 Front Line Defenders: "On 19 May 2017, human rights defender, Cesar Geovany Bernardez, was transferred from La Ceiba police station to Trujillo, where he appeared in court. Although the judge ordered his release from detention, the human rights defender was placed under a travel ban. Cesar Geovany Bernardez is the director of Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña – OFRANEH (Honduran Black Fraternity Organization). Since 1978, the organisation has worked for the promotion of the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna people's right to self-determination through programmes that support their political, social, economic and cultural advancement."

Gobierno hondureño, narcos y presas: el alcalde eco-activista Omar Suazo arrestado después de sobrevivir a un intento de asesinato  5/21/2017 GarifunaWeb: "Según nuestra información, elementos dentro del gobierno hondureño decidieron de hacer eliminar a Omar Suazo. Después de intentar matarlo, lo arrestaron por asesinato."

Illegal deforestation of the banks of Cuyamel River - Deforestación ilegal de las orillas del Río Cuyamel  5/21/2017 GarifunaWeb: "The deforestation along the banks of the Cuyamel river, where the Honduran government wants to dam, started the very morning Omar Suazo was arrested. They were ready to go, they knew from previous events that Omar Suazo would prevent them from proceeding were he a free man. La deforestación a lo largo de las riberas del río Cuyamel, donde el gobierno hondureño quiere construir una presa, empezó la misma mañana que Omar Suazo fue arrestado. Estaban listos para ir, sabían de acontecimientos previos que Omar Suazo les impediría proceder si era un hombre libre."

Honduras cancela concesiones mineras por falta de consulta previa  5/21/2017 No a la mina: "El Estado de Honduras canceló la concesión minera Punta Piedras I y II porque no se realizó la consulta previa e informada con las comunidades garífunas. Falta por cumplir la reforma a la Ley de Minería para que se apegue a lo dictaminado en el Convenio 169 de la OIT. La Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH), señaló que la Corporación Minera Caxinas, que es la empresa que impulsaba ambos proyectos es propiedad de Ramón Lobo, hermano del expresidente, Porfirio Lobo Sosa."

Detienen a corresponsal de Radio Progreso  5/19/2017 C LIBRE: "Según la OFRANEH, el pueblo Grífuna ha venido presentando denuncias desde el año 2008 en contra de la Corporación Municipal de Santa Fe y en el año 2013 en contra del alcalde Noel Ruiz “por auspiciar ventas ilegales tierra a canadienses involucrados”."

El rey del Porno, la usurpación del territorio Garífuna de Trujillo y la inaplicabilidad de la ley en Honduras.  5/19/2017 El Pulso: "Los múltiples atropellos sufridos por el pueblo Garífuna en Honduras, forman parte de la antología de despojos territoriales que afectan a los pueblos indígenas del continente. En nombre de un supuesto desarrollo el saqueo se ha intensificado en este milenio, al mismo tiempo que la aplicación de justicia se ha debilitado. En el caso de la Bahía de Trujillo, el empresario canadiense Randy Jorgensen, se apropió de los hábitats funcionales de las comunidades de Guadalupe, Santa Fe e incluso de la misma ciudad de Trujillo; además de haber demolido parte de la comunidad Garífuna de Río Negro, para lo cual contó con el apoyo irrestricto de la municipalidad de Trujillo."

Criminalizan a dirigente Garífuna de OFRANEH acusandolo de usurpación de tierras  5/19/2017 Hola Roatan: "OFRANEH denunció en 2013 a Noel Ruiz Alcalde Santa Fe, Colon por auspiciar ventas ilegales tierra a canadienses involucrados mafia rey Porno"

Amenazas proferidas por Noel Ruiz, Alcalde de Santa Fe, Colon, contra dirigente Garífunas  5/19/2017 OFRANEH: "Amenazas proferidas por Noel Ruiz, Alcalde de Santa Fe, Colon, contra dirigente Garífunas"

Defensor territorial Garífuna detenido por usurpación de su territorio ancestral  5/19/2017 OFRANEH: "Esta tarde fue detenido el dirigente comunitario y miembro de la Coordinación General de la OFRANEH, el compañero César Geovany Bernardez acusado de usurpar un terreno que se encuentra dentro del título comunitario otorgado a la comunidad de Guadalupe. El canadiense Patrick Forseth demandó a miembros de la comunidad Garífuna aduciendo la propiedad sobre un terreno que forma parte del patrimonio colectivo de la comunidad de Guadalupe."

"Berta Didn't Die, She Multiplied": Indigenous Organizers in Honduras Call for Radical Transformation  5/15/2017 Truth Out: "The organization Cáceres founded 24 years ago, the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), continues multiplying, too. About a dozen new Lenca communities have recently joined the 200-plus communities already united in protecting their territories, waters, communities, and rights from the government and multinational corporations."

Honduran government, narcos, and dams: eco-activist mayor Omar Suazo arrested after surviving an assassination attempt  5/14/2017 Garifunaweb: Summary of the Omar Suazo case - "An eco-activist and singer in the Garifuna tradition, Omar "Babakle" Suazo is mayor of Sambo Creek, a largely Garifuna town in Honduras. In the early hours of Monday May 8th, he was assaulted by a group of special agents and thrown to the ground face down while one stabbed him 4 times in the back. The attackers were shouting genocidal slogans, "Death to the Garifuna." An onlooker opened fire, killing the man stabbing Suazo and wounding at least one other. Regular police then arrived and arrested Omar Suazo for murder. He has been in jail ever since, in a private cell which may not shield him from additional attempts on his life."

Case of Omar Suazo, mayor of the Garifuna town of Sambo Creek, postponed for two months while he remains in jail, exposed to further assassination attempts  5/13/2017 GarifunaWeb: "The hearings on Friday May 12th were attended by many demonstrators who came from the towns affected by proposed dams. Omar's success in stopping these dam projects is widely believed to be the reason why the attempt was made to kill him, as can be seen from the signs they carried."

Caso de Omar Suazo, alcalde de Sambo Creek, pospuesto durante dos meses mientras permanece en la cárcel, expuesto a nuevos intentos de asesinato  5/13/2017 GarifunaWeb: "La audiencia del viernes 12 de mayo estuvo acompañada por muchos manifestantes que vinieron de las ciudades afectadas por las presas propuestas. El éxito de Omar en parar estos proyectos de la presa se cree extensamente ser la razón por la cual el intento fue hecho para matarlo, como se puede ver de los signos que llevaron."

A prisión preventiva envían a dirigente garífuna  5/13/2017 La Prensa: "El juzgado resolvió dictar la medida a Suazo gracias a el testimonio de unos de los sobrevivientes del suceso quien lo reconoció." [Los sobrevivientes son miembros de una mara que mandaron a matar a Omar Suazo. La prensa de la Ceiba necesita hacer su trabajo con un nivel intelectual un poco mas alto, con una actitud un poco mas esceptica. Porque Suazo tiene heridas en la espalda? Porque los Garifunas dicen que era un asalto con motivacion de derechos de tierras y aguas? Van a ver proximamente que su trabajo ha sido de una calidad muy baja.]

Indigenous Hondurans Fight ‘Right-Wing Invaders’ Burning Crops  5/11/2017 teleSUR: "The culprits, according to COPINH, are intentionally setting fire to corn, bean and coffee plantations along Honduras’ Rio Blanco, or “White River.” The river, considered the “cradle” of Mayan civilization in Honduras, is the same one that slain activist Berta Caceres defended from exploitative multinational corporations for decades. COPINH claims wealthy, right-wing landowning families like the Madrids and the Facusse are behind the burnings. The organization, which claims these families are also hiring armed groups to intimidate Indigenous land defenders, has vowed to take action."

Stop The Murder Of Environmental Defenders In Latin America  5/10/2017 Huff Post: "In the early hours of 22 October 2015 a group of? thirty heavily-armed soldiers, police and civilians forced their way into Ana Miriam Romero’s home, drew their guns ?and beat her and her sister-in-law Rosaura. Both women were heavily pregnant at the time. Ana Miriam spent 11 ?days in hospital recovering. Her unborn child survived, but Rosaura lost her baby. Ana Miriam Romero was the 2016 recipient of the Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. She had taken a stand against the illegal construction of the Los Encinos hydroelectric dam on her community’s land."

Intento de asesinato de Omar Suazo, presidente del Patronato de Sambo Creek  5/9/2017 GarifunaWeb: "Anoche unos policias especiales trataron de matar a Omar Suazo, presidente del Patronato de Sambo Creek, un pueblo fuertamente garifuna en la costa caribeña de Honduras. Eso ocurio en público, frente a muchos testigos, en Sambo Creek: los agentes de la policia pusieron a Omar con su cara abajo en el suelo mientras que le estaban apuñalando en la espalda. Estaban gritando que todo los garifunas tenian que morir. Uno de los agentes, quien estaba apuñalandolo a Omar, fue matado con una tira de arma por un espectador -- el nombre del difunto es Jose Leonardo Villafranca Mejia. Un otro agente fue herido. Omar Suazo fue entonces arrestado por la policía regular y acusado del asesinato del hombre que le había estado apuñalando en la espalda. A pena una semana atras, Omar Suazo derrotó un otro intento mas de construir una represa en los ríos de Sambo Creek. Fuentes cerca de la defensa piensan que lo mas probable es que se trata en ese evento de los derechos de agua que Omar Suazo defendio durantes muchos años, con exito, igual que Berta Cáceres. El ultimo tentativo involucro al gobierno de Honduras y la organization JICA, the Japan International Cooperation Agency."

La Ceiba: Es capturado horas después de darle muerte a un ciudadano  5/9/2017 Tiempo Digital: "Según relatos de testigos en la escena del crimen, Suazo alias “Babacle”, luego de discutir con el occiso desenfundó su arma de fuego y le infirió varios disparos al señor Villafranca y a un acompañante por lo que de inmediato fueron trasladados al Hospital Atlántida donde minutos después falleció el ahora occiso." [El muerte era capitan en una mara. Despues, llevaron su cuerpo a visitar sus lugares favoritos, como suelen hacer los gansteres con sus jefes.]

Capturan a dirigente garífuna sospechoso de asesinato en La Ceiba  5/8/2017 La Prensa, Honduras: [Narración falsa, Villafranca era un agente especial que le estaba apuñalando a Omar Suazo y fue matado por un espectador.] - "Según la Policía, Suazo "Babacle", es sospechoso del asesinato ocurrido está madrugada en perjuicio de José Leonardo Villafranca Mejía (36), quien falleció producto de un trauma toráxico a causa de los disparos."

Capturan a un homicida en La Ceiba  5/8/2017 La Tribuna, Honduras:  [Narración falsa, ya era preso Omar Suazo cuando alguien de los espectadores disparó a un agente que le estaba apuñalando.] - "Minutos después de quitarle la vida a tiros a una persona, un hombre fue capturado por la policía en la ciudad de La Ceiba, en el departamento de Atlántida, Honduras."

Capturan a presidente del patronato de Sambo Creek por supuesto homicidio en La Ceiba  5/8/2017 Proceso Digital: [Narración falsa, Villafranca fue un agente especial que intento asesinar a Omar Suazo, Omar era boca abajo en el suelo, no pudo matar a nadie] - "Al imputado, testigos oculares del suceso lo identifican plenamente como el responsable de la muerte del señor Villafranca, por lo que en las próximas horas será remitido al Juzgado de esa región por el delito de homicidio."

Honduras: A Country that Prioritizes Profit over Indigenous Rights  5/4/2017 COHA: by Myra Miranda

Honduras: A Country that Prioritizes Profit over Indigenous Rights  5/4/2017 COHA: "Since 2013, two hydroelectric dam projects have been installed illegally on indigenous land, after the Honduran authorities neglected to inform local communities about the harmful impact that these projects were bringing with them. In 2013, the mayor of the Santa Elena municipality, Alexis Ventura, allowed the company Encinos to explore the area. In turn, this led indigenous groups to organize protest efforts to block the project[i]. The dam project would represent a clear threat to rural communities and it would also affect the local water supply."

Rights of indigenous peoples ‘not in a very good state,’ UN expert says  5/1/2017 UN News Center: "“The main preoccupation of indigenous peoples is really to work on the defence of their land and resources, and protection of the right of self-determination. In their assertion of this right, they are accused of being a terrorist or arrested,” Ms. Tauli-Corpuz. The independent UN expert just returned from Honduras, where she met with the family of an indigenous right defender killed last year. She noted the hearings in the case are being delayed and said that there was a “lack of determination from the side of prosecutors to pursue” a case."

On Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast, conflict over indigenous land turns violent  4/27/2017 Reuters: "According to CEJUDHCAN, a human rights organisation that works with indigenous communities, conflict over land has left 32 Miskito dead and 66 missing or injured since 2012. However mounting evidence of unscrupulous land sales by Miskito leaders themselves suggest a more complex root to the escalating violence."

Honduras Suspends Ex-Police Directors Implicated in Drug Czar Murder  4/22/2017 Insight Crime: "Authorities in Honduras have suspended two former national police directors as well as 25 officers for their alleged involvement in the murder of the country's anti-drug czar in an investigation that threatens to expose the extent of state collusion with organized crime." [It appears nothing happened as a result.]

Desigualdad de género: Mujeres garífunas, viviendo en lo posible  4/18/2017 Kenny Castillo: "Las condiciones no les son para nada favorables, experimentan triple discriminación y en muchos casos son víctimas de violencia machista."

Berta Is Dead, but the Movement She Started Lives  4/7/2017 Truth Out: "On September 30, 2016, the State Department certified that government of Honduras is making improvements in human rights, thus allowing 50% of 2016 US aid to be released. (Please ask your congressperson to support the Berta Caceres Human Rights Act, calling for military and police aid to be cut until the Honduran government improves its record.) That was a flashing green light for the Honduran government to increase its brutality. Predictably, more murders, assaults, and arrests of indigenous and rural activists have followed."

El salario del miedo: maras, violencia y extorsión en Centroamérica  4/6/2017 Crisis Group: "Las maras de Centroamérica son responsables de actos brutales de violencia, abuso de mujeres y el desplazamiento forzado de miles de personas. Los gobiernos de la región deben dejar de aplicar solamente medidas represivas, y tratar las raíces sociales y económicas de la cultura de las pandillas y sus redes de extorsión, además de invertir en comunidades afectadas."

Hudbay lawsuits in Canada: Timeline & summary of key issues  4/1/2017 RightsAction: scroll down - "Mining repression and impunity in Guatemala: Killers go free, Victims are accused"

Honduras Crime Group Used Natural Disaster to Launder Money  3/29/2017 Insight Crime: "The criminal organization reportedly set up several businesses that were hired by state companies to carry out 28 major infrastructure projects in the aftermath of the storm. Authorities believe the projects were supervised by companies that were either controlled by the Cachiros, or did not exist. Honduras' Anti-Corruption Council (Consejo Nacional Anticorrupción - CNA) said one of the state companies implicated in the illegal scheme was the electricity company (Empresa Hondureña de Energía Eléctrica - ENEE), which allegedly paid inflated prices to an enterprise linked with the Cachiros. ENEE representatives, however, have rejected the accusations, saying they were unaware of links between the criminal organization and the companies they hired to carry out projects."

Another Day, Another Damning Testimony of Elites by Honduras Trafficker  3/20/2017 Insight Crime: "As part of a sentencing hearing on March 16, Devis Leonel Rivera Maradiaga of the once-feared Cachiros criminal group said he met with Honduran Congressman Antonio "Tony" Hernández where they discussed how a company that Rivera Maradiaga and his family owned and operated could receive money from the government for services rendered. In return, Rivera Maradiaga claimed, he would pay a "bribe" to the president's brother."

Tony Hernández: "Estoy dispuesto a presentarme ante las autoridades de EEUU"  3/16/2017 El Heraldo: "El hermano del presidente Juan Orlando Hernández, Antonio "Tony" Hernández salió al paso de las acusaciones hechas este jueves por el excapo hondureño Devis Rivera Maradiaga en una corte de Nueva York, Estados Unidos."

Carlos Aguilar pierde la reelección en La Ceiba  3/13/2017 La Prensa, Honduras: "El exalcalde Ramon Antonio Leva representara al Partido Nacional y se enfrentara al liberal Jerry Sabio y a German Cruz de Libre."

Contracts Awarded to Honduras Drug Clan Illustrate Cyclical Corruption  3/9/2017 Insight Crime: "In Honduras, government contracts are more than just a means to completing public works projects. They are often at the heart of how corruption and organized crime functions, as these contracts enable state monies to move from political elites to underworld figures in an ostensibly legal fashion. This process becomes a self-reinforcing cycle of corruption when the owners of the companies receiving the contracts send kickbacks or campaign contributions to the politicians responsible for doling them out. The Cachiros, for instance, regularly made significant donations to the campaigns of politicians from both of the country's major political parties, the National Party and Liberal Party."

Lecciones desde Nicaragua para la inclusión de las mujeres indígenas en la gobernanza comunitaria  3/8/2017 CIFOR: "Esto se basa en un pensamiento que relega a la mujer al espacio doméstico, al margen de la gobernanza comunitaria que es ejercida desde una visión masculina, poco cuestionada. Por ello el estudio recomienda que cualquier esfuerzo orientado a mejorar las condiciones de vida de las familias indígenas considere esta realidad para evitar que se agraven los procesos de inequidad y desigualdad de género."

Drug Trafficker In New York Court Claims He Bribed Honduran President  3/7/2017 CBS: "A man who led a violent Honduran drug trafficking organization has told a federal court in New York that he bribed a president of the Central American country. Devis Rivera Maradiaga, a onetime leader of a gang known as the Cachiros, made the allegation while testifying Monday in a pre-sentencing hearing for the son of now retired Honduran President Porfirio Lobo Sosa. The son has pleaded guilty to cocaine smuggling."

La Ceiba pierde donación de represa que iba ser construida por Japón  3/4/2017 Diario la Prensa

La Ceiba pierde donación de represa que iba a ser construido por Japón  3/4/2017 La Prensa, Honduras: "Nos oponemos porque ese proyecto nos va a afectar el medio ambiente y una pequeña represa que tiene la comunidad en el río, de lo cual nos abastecemos de agua potable. No nos dejará nada solo daños", manifestó Omar Suazo, presidente del patronato de la comunidad garífuna de Sambo."

Berta Cáceres court papers show murder suspects' links to US-trained elite troops  2/28/2017 The Guardian: "Leaked court documents raise concerns that the murder of the Honduran environmentalist Berta Cáceres was an extrajudicial killing planned by military intelligence specialists linked to the country’s US–trained special forces, a Guardian investigation can reveal."

Garifuna Flee Discrimination and Land Grabs in Record Numbers  2/23/2017 teleSur: "As Hondurans of African descent, Garifunas have faced discrimination within Honduran society for centuries. Now, real estate developers are infringing on their homes along the pristine coastline, hoping to evict them to cash in on the country’s growing tourism industry. This land exploitation, along with historic marginalization and growing insecurity in Honduras, is causing a Garifuna exodus, particularly among youth and mothers with children."

El asesinato del indígena Tolupán José de Santos Sevilla ¿terrorismo de Estado?  2/18/2017 OFRANEH: "El pueblo Tolupán ha sido uno de los más asolados por la violencia, y desde hace dos décadas han sido asesinados más de un centenar de Tolupanes por la defensa de sus territorios y bienes comunes. La persecución a la que se han visto expuesto los más de 20 mil Tolupanes que existen está relacionada con el manejo del bosque y la minería ilegal."

Organizations call on the World Bank to Protect Indigenous Rights  2/14/2017 Coalition for Human Rights in Development: "The resettled communities lack land titles and adequate land for grazing, do not have essential infrastructure, and have not been provided with arrangements for livelihood restoration or benefit-sharing. The project is co-financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement – AFD), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Development Bank of Germany (Kreditanstalt für iederaufbau – KfW)."

Honduras, From Banana Republic to Narco State  2/12/2017 Stratfor: "Gangs MS13 and Barrio 18 are involved in the drug trade but also carry out other violent crimes, such as extortion, in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. The violence they impose has been a major driver of migration north to Mexico and to the United States. According to Honduras' Casa Alianza, Mexico deported more than 90,000 Honduran child migrants in 2016, and the United States apprehended an estimated 410,000 migrants mainly from Central America."

Honduras, From Banana Republic to Narco State  2/12/2017 Stratfor: "The most important factor for success, though, has been the National Inter-Institutional Security Task Force (FUSINA), created in 2014 to serve as an operational arm of the state's National Security Council. Currently, FUSINA is led by defense and security ministers." [When senior government officials are also traffickers, this will not work. Stratfor functions as a private CIA, and it will not critique CIA sponsored trafficking, abundantly in evidence in Honduras. If you reach your limit of free artices on Stratfor, just switch browsers.]

One land defender's story of repression, criminalization and arrest: Young Garifuna woman arrested for reclaiming ancestral land  2/8/2017 Aqui Abajo: "On November 11, 2016, Garifuna leader Medalime David Fernandez was arrested and tortured by Honduran police and soldiers from the U.S.-trained navy based in Puerto Castilla. The arrest occurred in the community of Guadalupe, one of six Garifuna communities in northern Honduras in the Trujillo Bay region. At the time, Medalime was being charged with illegal possession of land (usurpation) by Canadian tourist company CARIVIDA. After Medalime was violently detained, the charges were dropped shortly after in a judicial process supported by the Garifuna organization, the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH)… The lands where CARIVIDA hopes to build a resort and villas, was purchased in 2013 by the company’s general manager, Canadian citizen Patrick Daniel Forseth. The lands are located in Guadalupe, the most western Garifuna community on the bay. Guadalupe is located in the municipality of Santa Fe in the department of Colon."

Honduran politicians, US aid implicated in killings of environmentalists  2/1/2017 Monga Bay: "An investigation by NGO Global Witness finds Honduras has one of the one of the world's highest levels of violence against environmental activists, with more than 120 killed since 2010. • Investigators say government corruption surrounding development projects like dams, mines, and oil palm plantations are largely to blame. • Their report also highlights international finance institutions as playing a role in conflicts surrounding hydroelectric projects, as well as U.S. aid to Honduran military and police forces, which have been implicated in numerous human rights violations in the country."

Honduras: the deadliest country in the world for environmental activism  1/31/2017 Global Witness: "More than 120 people have died since 2010, according to Global Witness research. The victims were ordinary people who took a stand against dams, mines, logging or agriculture on their land –murdered by state forces, security guards or hired assassins. Countless others have been threatened, attacked or imprisoned."

Honduras elites blamed for violence against environmental activists  1/31/2017 The Guardian, UK: "High-ranking politicians and business tycoons are implicated in a wave of violence against environmental activists in Honduras, according to an investigation by the anti-corruption group Global Witness, which says the country’s elites are using criminal methods to terrorize communities with impunity."

Honduras Indigenous Leader Under Police Protection Arrested  1/11/2017 teleSUR: "The arrest, which was denounced as “illegal” by the PMSPH, lasted about 30 minutes, according to the activist, and occurred despite the Garifuna leader being placed under police protection at the request of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, or IACHR, just like Berta Caceres was before she was assassinated. In October, Miranda was awarded the "Carlos Escaleras" environmental prize for her 30 years of activism in defense of the Garifuna community's land rights, which are threatened by major development projects in the country."

Central American News

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