Honduras investigates murders of two indigenous leaders

Honduran authorities said Wednesday y are investigating murders of two activists and Indigeus leers killed in separate incidents over weekend.

Félix Vásquez, a longtime environmental activist from Lenca indigeus group, was shot by masked men in front of relatives Saturday in his home in Santiago de Puringla.

On Sunday, Jose án Medina was found shot to death in a remote location in community of El Volcan, also in western Honduras. Medina was a member of Tolupan Indigeus group.

Vásquez, who was seeking mination of opposition Libre party to run for congress, h fought hydroelectric projects and land abuses for years. National elections are scheduled for March.

Yuri Mora, spokesman for Honduras prosecutor’s office, said that office on ethnic groups and cultural patrimony was investigating Vásquez’s murder. He said investigators h executed searches and were about to call people in to make statements, but arrests h been me.

He said Vázquez h filed complaints with prosecutor’s office in past against hydroelectric projects and on land manment issues.

Honduras' National Human Rights Commission condemned both killings and said it would investigate. It confirmed that Vásquez h reported threats and harassment. commission h requested protective measures for Vásquez in January 2020, but y were never carried out.

Rafael Alegría, coordinator of ngovernmental organization Via Campesina in Honduras, said Vásquez h been filing complaints and reporting threats since 2017, but government never acted.

Alegría, himself a former national lawmaker, said that activists h been reporting harassment from mining, timber and hydroelectric companies, as well as large landowners, in La Paz department for years.

“re is a union of terrible interests in western Honduras,” Alegría said. “re is constant persecution of farmers and indigeus communities. y murdered Bertha Cáceres in Intibuca and w Félix Vásquez, and ors have been threatened.”

Cáceres, also a Lenca environmental activist, was killed in March 2016, when gunmen burst into her home and shot her. Her murder captured global attention in part because she h been awarded prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. She fought for years against a dam project. Several men have been convicted in her murder, but her family continues to pursue justice against those believed to be masterminds.

Honduras is among world’s most dely nations for environmental activists. Via Campesina says that 12 activists have been killed re in 2020. In March, Global Witness reported that 27 environmental activists h been killed in Honduras since Caceres’ murder.

Dania Cruz, spokeswoman for National Police, said y were investigating murders of Vásquez and Medina, but told local media she wouldn't share ditional information to avoid interfering with investigations.