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fullscreen Honduran President Xiomara Castro condemns the murder of a climate activist in Honduras. Archive image. Photo: Rafiq Maqbool/AP/TT
An environmental activist in Honduras who, among other things, opposed the mining industry in the country has been shot dead.
46-year-old Juan Lopez was killed as he left a church in the city of Tocoa on Saturday.
President Xiomara Castro confirmed the killing and promised that the perpetrator and those involved would be held accountable for the shooting.
Honduras in Central America is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for environmental activists.
Lopez was active in trying to stop mining in a forest classified as a conservation area. The iron ore mine near Tocoa in northern Honduras is planned to be an open pit mine.
Lopez worked in Tocoa’s city administration, and was also politically active in the ruling Libre party. In addition, Lopez recently accused fellow Libre party members of discussing accepting bribes with representatives of drug cartels in 2013. One of those singled out was the president’s brother-in-law, who left his seat in Congress after the revelation.
Lopez has previously drawn attention to the risks of questioning and criticizing social problems in Honduras.
– You can never know what happens when you leave your home, and if you will return home, he said in an interview with AFP in 2021.
The independent organization Global witness estimates that 18 environmental activists were killed in 2023, and that 148 activists were killed in the period 2012–2023.