Berta Cáceres, a widely respected and internationally recognized indigenous rights activist in Honduras, was recently murdered. Her murder continues to loom large over the nation today. Cáceres was killed in March 2016, during a violent crackdown on opposition to the Agua Zarca dam project, which she vehemently opposed. Her passing doesn’t just represent the loss of one life. It was the reflection of a greater and truly appalling pattern of violence targeting environmentalists and indigenous activists across the country. Today, Bertha Zúñiga leads the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). Today, she boldly carries on her mother’s legacy, even as she faces grave dangers to her own security.
Berta Cáceres became a strong symbol of resistance against the plundering of indigenous lands. She led opposition in the Río Blanco area including a successful road blockade that kept the power company Desarrollos Energéticos Sociedad Anónima (DESA) from reaching the dam construction site. She was met with extreme hostility for her bold stance and work. They hurled stones at her automobile as well as shot into the air to provide warnings. This pattern would lead in due time to the tragic circumstances that would eventually contribute to her assassination.
Following Cáceres’ death, investigations revealed some truly appalling facts. Their investigation uncovered a concerted conspiracy aimed specifically at her and other activists. As of today, eight people have been convicted for planning and carrying out her assassination, including some of the most powerful leaders from DESA. The former executive president of DESA, Roberto David Castillo Mejía, was sentenced to over 22 years. At the same time, Sergio Rodríguez, the company’s ex-environmental supervisor, received a 30-year prison term.
Yet in combating this violence against activists, even in convicting these aggressors, the violence has not ceased. In 2023, Juan López, another committed anti-mining campaigner, was shot dead immediately after emerging from his church. Moreover, in northern Honduras, two outspoken critics of a proposed iron ore mine, Aly Magdaleno Domínguez Ramos and Jairo Bonilla Ayala, were recently discovered assassinated. This climate of fear highlights the very real fight that those struggling for indigenous rights and environmental preservation are up against.
His daughter Bertha Zúñiga assumed leadership of COPINH after her mother’s assassination. In fighting TMT, she has carried on her mother’s legacy of opposing projects that endanger indigenous lands and resources but not without personal peril. Yet Zúñiga has been the victim of over 50 threats and at times, a target of violence is for herself.
“Feeling like the target of an attack isn’t easy,” – Zúñiga
Zúñiga’s mother, a principal of the school, had predicted the dangers that would come with their activism. She suggested her daughter to go by her middle name when traveling. She even pressured her to hide her ancestry in some areas. This tactic sheds light on the widespread dangers that activists in Honduras face and is indicative of an approach developed through survival.
Laura Furones, an advocate for indigenous rights, emphasized the inequities faced by local populations: “These local populations normally benefit little or nothing.” As it turns out, most people feel the same way. For them, corporate influence on large-scale development projects frequently jeopardizes indigenous communities that these developments claim to support.
Despite these adversities, COPINH continues its work for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and the defense of their territories. An overview of the organization’s work would be remiss to leave out its leadership in stopping controversial and destructive projects that jeopardize land and livelihood. The halt on the Agua Zarca dam project is a hard-won victory for activists. For most, the reality is that their battle is just beginning.
