Honduras, another regime of terror imposed by the US

The cowardly assassination of the indigenous and campesino leader, Berta Caceras while she slept in her home in La Esperanza, Honduras. Is a clear demonstration that there is no democracy in the country or a state of rights and, at the same time, a reality that it extends beyond our region. This is the second conquest of Latin America and the Caribbean by the large powers through transnational companies and organized crime supported by the States in their plans of expansion and growing plunder and depredation of the natural wealth of resources. All this is done using repression, theft of the lands and water of the communities of indigenous peoples, Afro descendents and campesinos. The companies corrupt local, regional and; national authorities when the peoples do not bow down and put them in jail or kill them.

The scandalous arbitrary imprisonment of Nestora Salgado, comandant of the Community Police of Olinais in the Mexican Army of Guerrero in charge of controlling criminals in her territory. For this reason she is not looked on with pleasure by the authorities that protect them. Or of Milagro Sala, Coya indigenous leader of the Barrial Tupac Amaru Organization in the Argentine province of Jujuy, the project of community self government and managements largest in this southern nation only comparable to the Zapatista Caracol is totally a challenge to capital and provincial authorities.

The list would be enormous of social fighters, political prisoners or assassinations, by neo liberal governments of Latin America and the Caribbean. Their cases are ignored since they are not called Leopoldo López, nor are they rich nor is there the least interest in reporting their cases by the corporative media. It should not be forgotten that these media are also owned by the large transnational companies, enemies of our peoples.

After the coup d’états of 2009 against President Manuel Zelaya, planed from the US airbase of Soto Cano and the US Southern Command, Honduras has become one of the most dangerous and violent countries in the
world and has become a paradise for large investments of the large transnationals and organized crime. This Central American nation competes with Mexico in terms of assassinations of journalists and social activists, never cleared up or jailed the perpetrators and much less the intellectual authors of these crimes. Impunity reigns for the crimes of imperialist capital.

Berta Lenca leader,of the largest group of indigenous people in her country founded the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in 1993 and is a noted reference of popular organization in the early street protests of the coup of against Zelaya and a strong participant in the resistance against it.

Her aura of unwavering fighter won every more prestige for the victories she achieved against the mega projects of the transnational that included making the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project withdraw
because it devastated the economy of a large region of the Lenca people and the campesino communities. In 2015 Berta was awarded the Goldman Environment prize.

Asked later if the award could mean a certain protection of her life this was her answer: “The Government now tries to link the assassinations of the environment defenders and the land with a common violence; but there are enough elements to demonstrate that there is a policy, armed, planned, structured and financed to criminalize thebattle of all the social and popular movements.

The installation and expansion of transnational projects not only generates conflicts but multiples the forms of violation of human rights, including assassinations. I may be wrong but I believe that the fight instead of reducing strengthens the persecution of those fighters”. She was not wrong.

Although it is also true this crime has been rejected by the Honduran people in a critical moment of its fight against the coup of 2009. Scherly Arriaga, deputy of the Partido Libre of former president Zelaya has said: the Honduran people will now take to the streets again…The Government of Juan Orlando Hernández is in crisis … by not answering to her security. I believe that again Honduras rises up…”

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