Suspect Arrested in Murder of Honduran Activist, But Justice Still Elusive
"There is a lot of fear because in Honduras there is total insecurity and impunity."
Honduran authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of environmentalist Nelson Garcia, the Indigenous activist and father of five who was killed on March 15, less than two weeks after the assassination of his colleague Berta Caceres.
Reuters reports that Didier Enrique "Electric" Ramirez was apprehended for his alleged role in the murder of Garcia, "who was shot dead earlier this month by at least two assailants following a dispute with local landowners," Honduran officials said in a statement on Sunday.
Both Caceres and Garcia were members of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous organizations of Honduras, known as COPINH.
As Common Dreams reported at the time, news outlets said Garcia's death occurred shortly after the Honduran government dispatched riot police and bulldozers to evict 150 Indigenous people from their homes in Rio Chiquito, where they had occupied ancestral land for two years in protest of the Agua Zarca megadam project.
According to the statement by the Honduran Public Prosecutor, "Ramirez was waiting for Garcia's arrival before ambushing him as he parked his car," TeleSUR reports.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing activist Gustavo Castro, the sole witness to Caceres' murder--who was wounded in the attack and survived only because he pretended to be dead--"is appealing to the Mexican government to help secure his release amid mounting concern he could be framed for the killing," the Guardian reported Monday.
Castro, coordinator of Friends of the Earth Mexico and director of the Chiapas-based NGO Otros Mundos, has been forbidden from leaving Honduras for 30 days, or until April 6. He has been forced to take refuge in the Mexican embassy in Tegucigalpa.
In an interview with the Guardian, attorney Miguel Angel de los Santos said he was concerned for Castro's safety and called on Mexico's president Enrique Pena Nieto to intervene.
"There is a lot of fear because in Honduras there is total insecurity and impunity--and blaming someone close to Berta would be the easiest and most convenient thing to do," he said. "We need action at the highest diplomatic level to get Gustavo home."
He added: "Under Honduran law, witnesses and victims of crimes cannot be prevented from leaving the country. Gustavo's detention is totally illegal and arbitrary."
These remarks echo concerns raised by international observers, including Mexico's ambassador to Honduras, Dolores Jimenez, and Castro himself.
"Beyond being inconvenient for knowing too much, the eyewitness falls into the repressive government's category of public enemy," Other Worlds founder and human rights advocate Beverly Bell wrote last week. "Like Caceres, Castro has been a vocal opponent of dam construction on Indigenous rivers, as well as of the broad powers given to transnational corporations and the local elite to undermine democracy and plunder the riches of nature."
Earlier this month, BBC reported, Honduran police said they had arrested a man and minor who they alleged were responsible for Caceres' murder.
But Caceres' family and comrades continue to call for an impartial, independent investigation into what they see as a targeted killing.
Indeed, the activist's daughter and nephew have traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for such a probe as well as for the U.S. to stop supporting what they see as a repressive, violent, and corrupt Honduran regime.
Caceres' nephew, documentary filmmaker Silvio Carillo, said Sunday: "This government is nothing but a criminal syndicate who is enriching themselves and doing nothing for the people of this country."
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just hours left in our Spring Campaign, we're still falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Honduran authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of environmentalist Nelson Garcia, the Indigenous activist and father of five who was killed on March 15, less than two weeks after the assassination of his colleague Berta Caceres.
Reuters reports that Didier Enrique "Electric" Ramirez was apprehended for his alleged role in the murder of Garcia, "who was shot dead earlier this month by at least two assailants following a dispute with local landowners," Honduran officials said in a statement on Sunday.
Both Caceres and Garcia were members of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous organizations of Honduras, known as COPINH.
As Common Dreams reported at the time, news outlets said Garcia's death occurred shortly after the Honduran government dispatched riot police and bulldozers to evict 150 Indigenous people from their homes in Rio Chiquito, where they had occupied ancestral land for two years in protest of the Agua Zarca megadam project.
According to the statement by the Honduran Public Prosecutor, "Ramirez was waiting for Garcia's arrival before ambushing him as he parked his car," TeleSUR reports.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing activist Gustavo Castro, the sole witness to Caceres' murder--who was wounded in the attack and survived only because he pretended to be dead--"is appealing to the Mexican government to help secure his release amid mounting concern he could be framed for the killing," the Guardian reported Monday.
Castro, coordinator of Friends of the Earth Mexico and director of the Chiapas-based NGO Otros Mundos, has been forbidden from leaving Honduras for 30 days, or until April 6. He has been forced to take refuge in the Mexican embassy in Tegucigalpa.
In an interview with the Guardian, attorney Miguel Angel de los Santos said he was concerned for Castro's safety and called on Mexico's president Enrique Pena Nieto to intervene.
"There is a lot of fear because in Honduras there is total insecurity and impunity--and blaming someone close to Berta would be the easiest and most convenient thing to do," he said. "We need action at the highest diplomatic level to get Gustavo home."
He added: "Under Honduran law, witnesses and victims of crimes cannot be prevented from leaving the country. Gustavo's detention is totally illegal and arbitrary."
These remarks echo concerns raised by international observers, including Mexico's ambassador to Honduras, Dolores Jimenez, and Castro himself.
"Beyond being inconvenient for knowing too much, the eyewitness falls into the repressive government's category of public enemy," Other Worlds founder and human rights advocate Beverly Bell wrote last week. "Like Caceres, Castro has been a vocal opponent of dam construction on Indigenous rivers, as well as of the broad powers given to transnational corporations and the local elite to undermine democracy and plunder the riches of nature."
Earlier this month, BBC reported, Honduran police said they had arrested a man and minor who they alleged were responsible for Caceres' murder.
But Caceres' family and comrades continue to call for an impartial, independent investigation into what they see as a targeted killing.
Indeed, the activist's daughter and nephew have traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for such a probe as well as for the U.S. to stop supporting what they see as a repressive, violent, and corrupt Honduran regime.
Caceres' nephew, documentary filmmaker Silvio Carillo, said Sunday: "This government is nothing but a criminal syndicate who is enriching themselves and doing nothing for the people of this country."
Honduran authorities have arrested a suspect in the murder of environmentalist Nelson Garcia, the Indigenous activist and father of five who was killed on March 15, less than two weeks after the assassination of his colleague Berta Caceres.
Reuters reports that Didier Enrique "Electric" Ramirez was apprehended for his alleged role in the murder of Garcia, "who was shot dead earlier this month by at least two assailants following a dispute with local landowners," Honduran officials said in a statement on Sunday.
Both Caceres and Garcia were members of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous organizations of Honduras, known as COPINH.
As Common Dreams reported at the time, news outlets said Garcia's death occurred shortly after the Honduran government dispatched riot police and bulldozers to evict 150 Indigenous people from their homes in Rio Chiquito, where they had occupied ancestral land for two years in protest of the Agua Zarca megadam project.
According to the statement by the Honduran Public Prosecutor, "Ramirez was waiting for Garcia's arrival before ambushing him as he parked his car," TeleSUR reports.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing activist Gustavo Castro, the sole witness to Caceres' murder--who was wounded in the attack and survived only because he pretended to be dead--"is appealing to the Mexican government to help secure his release amid mounting concern he could be framed for the killing," the Guardian reported Monday.
Castro, coordinator of Friends of the Earth Mexico and director of the Chiapas-based NGO Otros Mundos, has been forbidden from leaving Honduras for 30 days, or until April 6. He has been forced to take refuge in the Mexican embassy in Tegucigalpa.
In an interview with the Guardian, attorney Miguel Angel de los Santos said he was concerned for Castro's safety and called on Mexico's president Enrique Pena Nieto to intervene.
"There is a lot of fear because in Honduras there is total insecurity and impunity--and blaming someone close to Berta would be the easiest and most convenient thing to do," he said. "We need action at the highest diplomatic level to get Gustavo home."
He added: "Under Honduran law, witnesses and victims of crimes cannot be prevented from leaving the country. Gustavo's detention is totally illegal and arbitrary."
These remarks echo concerns raised by international observers, including Mexico's ambassador to Honduras, Dolores Jimenez, and Castro himself.
"Beyond being inconvenient for knowing too much, the eyewitness falls into the repressive government's category of public enemy," Other Worlds founder and human rights advocate Beverly Bell wrote last week. "Like Caceres, Castro has been a vocal opponent of dam construction on Indigenous rivers, as well as of the broad powers given to transnational corporations and the local elite to undermine democracy and plunder the riches of nature."
Earlier this month, BBC reported, Honduran police said they had arrested a man and minor who they alleged were responsible for Caceres' murder.
But Caceres' family and comrades continue to call for an impartial, independent investigation into what they see as a targeted killing.
Indeed, the activist's daughter and nephew have traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for such a probe as well as for the U.S. to stop supporting what they see as a repressive, violent, and corrupt Honduran regime.
Caceres' nephew, documentary filmmaker Silvio Carillo, said Sunday: "This government is nothing but a criminal syndicate who is enriching themselves and doing nothing for the people of this country."