Honduran parliament declares environmental campaigner Berta Caceres a “national hero”

Tegucigalpa, May 26 (EFE). – The Honduran parliament has declared environmental activist Berta Cáceres, who was murdered in March 2016, a “national hero” who has left a legacy in fighting and defending the environment, an official source said Thursday.

The National Congress said in a statement that deputies approved Wednesday evening an initiative to declare Cáceres a “national hero” who should be among the heroes of Honduras.

He added that the life and work of environmentalists from the Lenca ethnic group should be included in the content of the program and the plan to re-establish the educational system in Honduras.

“By approving the decree, the hard work that Berta Cáceres has done in Honduras is recognized, thus preserving her legacy over time as an indigenous Lenca woman, feminist, activist and environmentalist with a trajectory of more than 20 years,” he affirmed.

Caceres was killed on 2 March 2016 while sleeping in her home, in La Speranza, in the west of the country, although she had taken precautionary measures and had on several occasions denounced having received death threats for her opposing a hydroelectric project in the west of his country for the potential damage to the environment .

Berta Cáceres founded the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in 1993, with her ex-husband Salvador Zúñiga, with the aim of fighting for the rights of the Lenca people.

In 2015, he won the Goldman Prize, considered the Nobel Prize for the Environment, for leading a campaign against the Agua Zarca Dam, which is run by the world’s largest builder of hydropower plants.

The environmental activist confronted Desarrollos Energéticos SA (DESA) for its defense of the Gualcarque River, which had intended to build the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam, arguing that it had caused harm to the environment, primarily the communities of the Lenca ethnic group.

The Honduran Parliament also approved the creation of the Berta Cáceres Prize to recognize the environmental struggle of men and women in the Central American country.

In addition, the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) has ordered the inclusion of a picture of Berta Caceres and the message “Wake up, wake up human, there is no time” on the 200 lempira bill ($8.19).

In 2019, a Honduran court sentenced four of the eight defendants to 34 years in prison for the murder of Caceres and 16 for the attempted murder of Mexican Gustavo Castro. Three others were sentenced to 30 years in prison as accomplices in the crime.

Honduran Roberto David Castillo, who was chief executive of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs when Caceres was assassinated, will learn on June 17 the sentence he will serve for the environmental offense as co-author. EFE

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