By Gustavo Palencia
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (Reuters) – An environmental activist who protested mining and hydro-electric tasks in northern Honduras in an effort to protect tropical forests and rivers has been killed, police mentioned on Sunday.
Juan Lopez was shot useless on Saturday night time by a number of males as he headed dwelling in his automotive from church, an official informed Reuters, talking on situation of anonymity.
Lopez belonged to the Municipal Committee for the Protection of Widespread and Public Items, an environmental group within the metropolis of Tocoa on the nation’s Atlantic coast.
Three different members of the group had been killed final yr in what the group noticed as retaliation, in a rustic that is among the world’s most harmful for activists.
The group had suffered threats and harassment for years amid efforts to protect the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, and the Carlos Escaleras nature reserve, amid the rising presence of mining and hydro-electric firms.
“We demand clear and conclusive answers, this government must answer for the killing of our colleague Juan Lopez,” the group mentioned in a put up on social media.
Final October, the Inter-American Fee on Human Rights granted precautionary measures in favor of 30 members of the group and their authorized representatives, together with Lopez. It urged the Honduras authorities to strengthen its safety mechanisms.
Based on the fee, Lopez reported quite a few threats, together with from a gang member, an area businessperson, and a mining firm consultant. Since June, two males on bikes started showing round his dwelling, the fee mentioned.
The United Nations resident coordinator in Honduras, Alice Shackelford, mentioned Lopez had been threatened for his activism, and she or he praised his efforts to face up to highly effective pursuits.
“We condemn the terrible murder of Juan Lopez, a human rights defender threatened for his work,” she mentioned in a put up on social media.
Latin America accounted for 85% of the world’s environmentalists who had been killed final yr, in keeping with UK advocacy group International Witness, with 18 deaths registered in Honduras.