Ten years ago, on the night between 2 and 3 March 2016, Mrs. luchadora Honduran Berta Cáceres. The activist had decided to put his existence at the service of the rights of the indigenous populations of Honduras and the defense of the rivers, in particular the Gualcarque. But he paid a high price for this choice, that is, with his own life. If the perpetrators of the murder have been convicted, there are still many shadows that surround the murder of Berta and those of the other activists in the country. Some time ago the London journalist Nina Lakhani published an investigative book, entitled “Who killed Berta Cáceres?”, in which she retraces the commitment of the indigenous leader and sheds light on the instigators of the murder.
A life serving Mother Earth
Berta Cáceres belonged to the Lenca people, the largest indigenous ethnic group in Honduras. In 1994 she founded, together with her husband Salvador Zuniga, the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh), an organization committed to the defense of the environment and indigenous territories, in particular rivers.
His commitment focused above all on the fight against hydroelectric dams, illegal logging and extractive megaprojects that threatened the ancestral lands of indigenous communities. One of his biggest clashes was against the Agua Zarca dam project, a hydroelectric plant that would divert the Gualcarque River, sacred to the Lenca people. She opposed with great courage and determination the project which violated the principles expressed by ILO Convention 169, which since 1989 has recognized indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination.
The Honduran activist has been the spokesperson for numerous civil and environmental battles, without ever being intimidated by the repeated threats suffered by her and her family. Despite being forced to separate from her children to protect them, the woman never stopped fighting for the indigenous cause. The year before her death, Berta Cáceres received the prestigious award Goldman Environmental Prizeconsidered the Nobel Prize for the environment.
“The militarized, besieged, poisoned Mother Earth, in which elementary rights are systematically violated, forces us to act.
Let us therefore build societies capable of coexisting in a just, dignified and pro-life way.
Let us unite and full of hope continue to defend and support the blood of the earth and its spirits.
We must take up the fight in all parts of the world, wherever we are, because we have no spare or replacement planet. We only have this and we must act”: with these words Berta, interviewed by Guardian, commented on the victory of Goldman Environmental Prize.
Berta Cacéres’ family calls for justice
Only a couple of years ago, David Castillo, owner of the company Desarrollos Energéticos SA (Desa), which was carrying out the construction of the Agua Zaca hydroelectric dam, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for collaborating in the murder of the activist.
Even today, however, Berta Cacéres’ family and indigenous peoples demand justice for the brutal crime. Although almost 10 years have passed, the instigator of the assassination has not yet been identified, even if the family has always suspected Daniel Atala, financial regent of Desa.
Olivia Zúniga, one of the activist’s daughters – who also became Honduras’ ambassador to Cuba – is exhausted, but thirsty for the truth.
“I no longer have a voice. The words can’t find a way to come out, there are too many and they become tears that explode like a river in flood, dammed and freed. The road has been too long. Mom, may your spirit prevent them from hiding” he wrote in one of the posts on X.
Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries ever for environmentalists. Here many indigenous leaders and activists risk their lives every day, simply to defend their territories.
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