Honduras convicts former executive in activist's murder
July 6, 2021
US-trained ex-army officer Robert David Castillo is the latest suspect to be found guilty in the murder of environmental and Indigenous rights defender Berta Caceres.
Robert David Castillo was in-charge of a $50 million hydroelectric dam project in indigenous territories of Honduras.Image: Elmer Martinez/AP Photo/picture alliance
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A court in Honduras found a former top executive at a hydroelectric company guilty on Monday of collaboration in the 2016 murder of a prominent environmental activist.
Roberto David Castillo, a US-trained former army intelligence officer, was the eighth person convicted for the murder of Berta Caceres.
Initially accused of being the mastermind behind the murder, he was found guilty of being the co-perpetrator.
During the trial, Castillo was shown to have had telephone conversations with the seven other people who have already received sentences of between 30 and 50 years in prison.
Castillo was the former general manager of Desarrollos Energeticos S.A., or DESA, and the person in-charge of a $50 million (€42.1 million) hydroelectric dam project in Indigenous territories of Honduras.
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Who was Berta Caceres?
Caceres was a veteran activist who had been fighting for environmental causes since the 1990s.
She campaigned against illegal logging and was a fervent opponent of DESA's dam project in the region for which she won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015.
Indigenous activists have said that the project would cause major disruptions to their water and food supply and that the builders did not consult local groups.
Berta Caceres won the prestigious Goldman Prize for her environmental activism in 2015Image: Elmer Martinez/AP Photo/picture alliance
Why was she killed?
According to the prosecution, she was killed due to her efforts to stop the company from building a hydroelectric plant on the lands of her Lenca tribe on the Gualcarque River.
Castillo was arrested two years later. Prosecutors said he and two other DESA executives, both of whom have been convicted, had hired the assassins.
Honduras: Land of gangs and violence
Criminal gangs pose an existential threat to state and society in Honduras. For many, the only option is to flee.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
One of most violent countries in the world
Honduras has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. In 2011-2012, there were 86 homicides per 100,000 people. That amounted to 7,172 murders a year in a country of some 9 million people. In 2018, the homicide rate fell to 40 per 100,000 people, according to government statistics. In comparison, in 2015 there were some 5,000 homicides in the EU, where the population is 500 million.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Gang-fueled violence
There are as many as 40,000 gang members in Honduras. Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio-18 (members pictured here) are the two main criminal groups engaging in turf wars over drug and human trafficking, extortion and other criminal enterprises.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Pushing people out
The wave of violence, gang control and erosion of state authority has pushed tens of thousands of people out of neighborhoods where funeral processions are all too common. Many families fear that their children will be recruited into gangs as early as the age of 11. Many of those who can will often try to make the dangerous and hard journey through Mexico to the United States.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Existential threat
Gang-fueled violence and criminality have torn apart Honduran society and the authority of the state. According to a report by the US National Defense University, MS-13 has become a "criminal-economic-military-political power that poses an existential threat" to the state of Honduras. The group has infilrated key state institutions, including the police, military, judiciary and political system.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Police patrols
In Honduras, MS-13 has been known to corrupt and infiltrate local police. The group has expanded with the aid of police forces who have reportedly targeted and cleared neighborhoods controlled by rival groups. Police and security forces sacked for corruption are said to join gangs or train gang members.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
No justice
The corrupt and dysfunctional criminal system fuels more violence. Around 80 percent of homicides are not investigated and 96 percent are not adjudicated.
Image: Reuters/E. Garrido
Fleeing north
Thousands of Hondurans have tried to make the hard journey north. Many are innocent civilians seeking a better and safer life. However, US authorities say some gang members are trying to infiltrate the United States. At the same time, an influx of gang members being deported from the United States is strengthening gang numbers in Honduras as they are incorporated into structures there.
Image: Reuters/A. Latif
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What have Caceres's supporters said?
The court's decision was celebrated as a victory by the COPINH group of indigenous organizations, which was founded by Caceres.
"It means that the criminal power structures failed to corrupt the justice system," the group said on Twitter.
The decision was "a grain of sand" in the search for justice, said Caceres' daughter Laura Zuniga.
"We feel happy now. The Honduran people are fed up with so much impunity and death," said Zuniga.
What did Castillo say?
Castillo maintained his innocence throughout the trial. His lawyer, Ritza Antunez, has promised to appeal the conviction, which she said was a result of "international pressure."
