Jun 28 2022 | Daughter of murdered Honduran human rights activist files criminal complaint against Dutch Development Bank FMO

Bertha Zúniga Cáceres today filed a criminal complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office, against the Dutch development bank FMO. The daughter of the Goldman Environmental Prize Winner Berta Cáceres Flores, who was murdered in March 2016, requests the Public Prosecutor to launch a criminal investigation into the complicity of FMO and its executives in violence, corruption, misappropriation of funds and money laundering in the context of the development of the Agua Zarca dam in Honduras (Global Justice Association).

May 18 2018 | COPINH announces court case against FMO

COPINH today announced a court case against FMO, accusing it of negligence that has led to the murder on Berta Cáceres. The response of FMO can be found here.

Jul 14 2017 | Organisation of American States opened lines of investigation into Agua Zarca

The Organization of American States' (OAS) Mission Against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) announced on July 14 that it has opened lines of investigation into the Agua Zarca Project and DESA. It announced it is specifically investigating abuse of authority, fraud, and possible money laundering. The Honduran newspaper La Prensa reported on the MACCIH's announcement:  

These are several points MACCIH made in their press conference:

• DESA was created May 2009 and by November the company was participating in the energy bidding process for Agua Zarca, and by January it had signed a contract with the SERNA.  When DESA was created it had an initial capital of only 25,000 Lempiras and subsequently increased its capital to 381 million Lempiras.  The MACCIH spokesperson says this growth is surprising and needs to be verified.
• The Honduran Congress approved the contract for the sale of energy from the Agua Zarca Project on September 9, 2010, before the environmental license was even given.
• The Environmental License was given for 14.458 MW, but then it was amplified to 21.7 MW, which according to the MACCIH was not approved by the Honduran Congress despite the fact the increase required a commitment to purchase additional energy.
• SERNA Vice-Minister Dario Cardona is being prosecuted for authorizing the amplified environmental license with free, prior, and informed consultation of the Lenca people, but according to the MACCIH spokesperson, the then Minister of SERNA Rigoberto Cuellar and the Secretary General Rafael Antonio Canales are the ones who signed the license.  The MACCIH spokesperson asks why former Minister Rigoberto Cuellar has not been charged.  He is the current Assistant Attorney General (rough translation of Fiscal Adjunto) of the Public Ministry, the institution that prosecutes the cases.

Jul 12 2017 | Agua Zarca dam construction finally suspended

Construction of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project on the Gualcarque river has been finally suspended, reports Prensa Latina. This follows the completion of FMO and Finnfund withdrawing their finance for the project. Copinh asks that FMO and Finnfund accept their responsibility for the killings and human rights violations that were triggered by the Agua Zarca project.

Jul 6 2017 | FMO and Finnfund finalize Exit Agua Zarca

Two of the lenders of the Agua Zarca hydropower project in Honduras, FMO (Netherlands Development Finance Institution), Finnfund (Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation), together with owner and developer DESA, mutually agreed to end their existing contractual relations (source FMO).

May 9 2016 | FinnFund announces end to involvement in Agua Zarca

FinnFund has announced its intentions to end its involvement in the Agua Zarca project (source FinnFund).

May 9 2016 | FMO announces end to involvement in Agua Zarca project

FMO has announced its intention to end its involvement in the Agua Zarca project (source FMO).

May 6 2016 | DESA linked to murder Berta

Honduras authorities captured four men for the March murder of activist Berta Cáceres, two of which have direct ties to the hydroelectric company she and others have been battling in western Honduras, and indicated there may have been a larger conspiracy at play. On May 2, Honduran police arrested four people in connection with the murder of Cáceres, an environmental and indigenous rights activist who spent a decade fighting to block construction of dams along the Gualcarque River in La Esperanza, Honduras, about a 100 kilometers from the capital, Tegucigalpa (source Insightcrime.org).

May 4 2016 | DESA comments on arrests related to murder Berta Caceres

Statement from DESA on the arrest related to the murder of Berta Caceres.

May 2 2016 | Arrests made over killings Berta Caceres

On 2nd May 2016, the Honduran police arrested four people as part of the investigiation into the murder of Berta Cáceres. One of them is DESA's manager for social and environmental affairs.

Apr 20 2016 | European tour of COPINH delegation starts

Mar 16 2016 | European funders suspend funding for Agua Zarca project

Following the murder of Nelson García FMO and subsequently Finnfund suspend their financing for the Agua Zarca project, The Huffington Post reported.

Mar 3 2016 | Berta Caceres, leader of COPINH, murdered

Thursday March 3th, Berta Cáceres was assassinated by gunmen, who shot her four times inside her home in La Esperanza, Honduras. Gustavo Castro Soto, a Mexican human rights activist, was also wounded in the attack, and he is now a protected witness. 

Berta Cáceres was the coordinator and co-founder (in 1993) of the indigenous organisation Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras (COPINH), a human rights defender, and leader of the Lenca Indigenous community. She has been repeatedly threatened with her life for her opposition against the Agua Zarca Dam, complaining of death threats from the police, the army and landowners's groups. Last year, the Inter-American Human Rights Commission had ordered protective measures for Berta Cáceres, but she was not under protection this Thursday. In 2015, Berta Cáceres accepted the Goldman Environmental Prize for her role in fighting the Agua Zarca dam and her work to defend the Gualcarque River. She fought against the dam by filling legal complaints, organising community meetings, and bringing the case to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.

Feb 20 2016 | March against the dam in the region of Santa Barbara, fierce repression of police, military and private guards

More than a hundred people were on their way to San Francisco de Ojuera, to march to the construction site from the side on Santa Barbara. Before arriving in San Fransisco, the busses were stopped, people were hauled away from the busses, intimidated and threatened. Arriving in San Fransisco took five hours of walking.

Apr 6 2014 | Rising violence in Río Blanco

Another attack on April 6th led to two dead and many heavily injured persons in Río Blanco. According to the indigenous organization COPINH, five people who are known as dam supporters - one of them a known hitman in the region - attacked two members of COPINH who were on their way to the field work. In the following struggle, those two and others were heavily injured, two of the attackers died. COPINH decidedly repudiate the media campaign which aims to criminalize COPINH and describe the situation as if COPINH members had attacked two peaceful dam workers. Ever since opposition against the Agua Zarca started, the indigenous protest has been criminalized and repressed. as a result, communities have been divided and violence has increased dramatically.

Apr 1 2014 | Celebrating one year of resistance

On April 1st, members of the indigenous council of Río Blanco, who are part of the bigger indigenous organization COPINH, celebrate their first anniversary of resistance against Agua Zarca. A year ago, the communities had started a road block to hinder the machines from accessing to the construction site. In the event, they also remembered their comrades who have died and who have goten heavily injured as consequence of their peacful opposition. The occasion was also used to formulate a letter in which they demanded that the dutch bank FMO should quit financing the project.    

Mar 5 2014 | Murder attempt on Dam opponent

On March 5th, María Santos Domínguez, a leader in the local indigenous council of Río Blanco and member of the indigenous organization COPINH, one of the most visible opponents of Agua Zarca, was attacked on her way home by seven men who were armed with machetes. Her husband and 12-year-old son, who came to her rescue, were attacked as well, leaving all three of them heavily injured. One of the attackers, Mr. Fausto Domínguez, died as a result from injuries resulting from the attack. Violence has dramatically risen since the imposition of the hydroelectric dam.    

Feb 7 2014 | FMO confirms support for Agua Zarca

Dutch development bank FMO has confirmed in a letter to BankTrack that it will support the construction of the Agua Zarca dam, this despite the widespread local and international opposition agaisnt this project.

Jan 8 2014 | IFC CAO confirms CAMIF no longer investing in DESA

The IFC has confirmed it is no longer investing DESA as they conclude it does not comply with their mandate (see their report here).

Nov 23 2013 | Synohydro confirms termination contract with DESA

Synohydro has confirmed that it has terminated its contract with DESA, citing ongoing dispute with local communities.

Sep 20 2013 | COPINH leaders convicted

In the court audience the 20th of September, the coordinator of COPINH Berta Cáceres was convicted with a preventive detention and the other two indigenous leaders Aureliano Molina and Tomas Membreno were dictaded substitute measures (not returning to the Río Blanco region where the dam is being built, reporting every second week to the police station and remaining under custody of the lawyer). Also, the judge ordered eviction of the road block which the indigenous people of Río Blanco had been maintaining since the 1st of April. The results of the court audience are exactly what the company DESA and the Attorney General had asked for, falsely accusing the three indigenous leaders of usurpation, co-actions and continuous damage in prejudice of DESA. While this means a hard stroke for the indigenous movement, COPINH and the local population remain determined in their struggle against the hidroelectric project. Also, national and international solidarity is raising.

Sep 17 2013 | Court case against Copinh leaders pending

There are no results yet of the hearing against the members of COPINH Tomás Gomez, Berta Cáceres, and Aureliano Molina which took place the 12th and 13th of September.The judge will render her verdict after the third hearing, which will be held Friday, September 20th. There are four total charges against the three, not all of which are being heard at this time.The government is requesting that the three be imprisoned. Meanwhile, the police presence in the north of the department of Intibucá, including the village of Rio Blanco, has increased. So have government threats and harassment of those resisting invasion of their lands. Another COPINH member was arrested last week on charges of being a danger to the well-being of the nation.

Sep 12 2013 | Start of trial against three leaders of COPINH

First day of court cases against three leaders of Copinh, charged with inflicting damage on property of DESA and disturbing public order.

Sep 5 2013 | Fake agreement between company, government and make believe indigenous representatives

In the beginning of September, in the forefront of the trial against three COPINH-members, DESA signed an agreement with indigenous representatives of Río Blanco, monitored by the Honduran president Porfirio Lobo. COPINH points out that this is just another insidious strategy, since the ones who signed this mutual consent are selfproclaimed leaders which don´t actually represent the local population, which has expressed their categorical rejection of the project numerous times

Sep 2 2013 | Court audience against COPINH members

On 12th and 13th August 2013, the court audience against the three COPINH leaders Berta Cáceres and the other COPINH members Tomás Gomez and Aureliano Molina took place. They are falsely accused by DESA of usurpation, co-actions and continuous damage in prejudice of DESA, as well as of being the intellectual assassins of a community member. This all is part of a campaign of criminalization of the protest which could lead to the politically motivated imprisonment. Since the hearing in August, the accused must report every week to the court, and are not able to enter the area of the incidents (i.e. the dam protest site). The next and final hearing is scheduled for the 12th and 13th of September. See report here.