Seven men sentenced to long prison terms for the murder of Berta Cáceres
Earlier this month, the seven men found guilty of the murder of Berta Cáceres were sentenced to jail for periods between 30 and 50 years. The court confirmed its opinion that Berta Cáceres was murdered for her role in defending the rights of the indigenous Lenca communities.
Two of the convicts are former employees of DESA, the electricity company that built the Agua Zarca dam that Cáceres fought against. Sergio Rodriguez and Douglas Bustillo have both been sentenced for 30 and a half years for participating in the planning of the murder.
Intellectual authors of the murder still free
In Honduras, the judgment is welcomed by the Cáceres family and by COPINH, the organization in which she was active. At the same time, concerns are expressed about the prosecution of all those responsible for the murder of Berta. The trial of David Castillo, charged as intellectual author of the murder and general manager of DESA, is facing serious delays and is accompanied by defamation campaigns against COPINH's work. In the lawsuit against the seven perpetrators, evidence was presented that refers to other suspects, but these suspected intellectual authors are not prosecuted. COPINH, Berta Cáceres' relatives and various Honduran and international organizations, including Both ENDS, continue to call on the Honduran state and the international community to investigate the other suspects.
The process in Honduras confirms that employees of the former client of the Dutch development bank FMO, the company DESA, are involved in the murder of Berta Cáceres. FMO was one of the financiers of the controversial Agua Zarca dam. Both ENDS closely follows the legal processes in Honduras and the Netherlands concerning this case and cooperates with indigenous groups in Honduras that stand up for the rights of the communities.
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News / 2 maart 2021
5 years after her murder, Berta Cáceres’ family is still waiting for justice
Today it is 5 years ago that Berta Cáceres was shot in haar home in La Esperanza, Honduras, for defending the rights of indigenous people. The leader of indigenous organisation COPINH resisted the Agua-Zarca hydropower dam that was planned to be build in indigenous territory. The actual murderers have been convicted, but not so the intellectual authors of the murders.
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News / 6 juli 2017
Press Release 6 July 2017: FMO and FinnFund exit the controversial Agua Zarca project
Both ENDS and SOMO welcome the announcement done today by the Dutch and Finnish development banks, FMO and FinnFund, to exit the controversial Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Honduras. Conflict about the project has led to violence in the region, including the murder of three leaders who opposed the project. In March 2016, renowned human rights defender Berta Caceres was murdered for opposing this project in indigenous Lenca territory.
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News / 7 februari 2017
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News / 6 maart 2018
Director of electricity company arrested in Berta Cáceres case
On Friday, March 2, the director of DESA, David Castillo, was arrested in Honduras on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Berta Cáceres, exactly 2 years ago. The Honduran government refused for a long time to not only detect the actual murderers, but also the intellectual authors of the murder of Cáceres.
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News / 23 juli 2021
Dutch development bank FMO's funding for Agua Zarca project possibly linked to malpractices
The million-dollar loan that the Dutch development bank FMO provided to project developers of Honduran company DESA for the construction of the controversial Agua Zarca dam project in Honduras, may be related to gross corruption and malpractice. This is concluded in an article published today in the Dutch news paper Financieel Dagblad, based on information provided by COPINH, the indigenous organisation that has been opposing the construction of the dam for years. Several members of the organisation, including its leader Berta Cáceres, were murdered. DESA director David Castillo has recently been convicted of being involved in the assassination of Cáceres in 2016.
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News / 2 maart 2017
A letter to Dutch minister one year after Berta Cáceres' murder
Today, it is exactly one year ago that Berta Cáceres was brutally murdered in her home in Honduras. Cáceres was a globally known human rights defender and coordinator of the indigenous Lenca organisation COPINH. The murder of Berta is closely related to her protest against the Agua Zarca dam, a hydroelectric project financed partially by the Dutch development bank FMO.
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External link / 31 mei 2018
Agua Zarca debacle leads to policy changes at FMO (Annual Report 2017)
Sometimes things must go terribly wrong before big players start to move. In March 2016, Honduran activist Berta Cáceres was murdered because of her leading role in the protests against the Agua Zarca hydro dam, co-financed by the Dutch FMO. One and a half year later, FMO changed their policies to prevent such events in the future.
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News / 17 mei 2018
Charge against Dutch FMO for complicity in human rights violations in Honduras
Today, three representatives of the Honduran indigenous people's organisation COPINH, together with the family of environmental activist Berta Cáceres, who was murdered in March 2016, announced that they are preparing to press charges against the Dutch development bank FMO. COPINH accuses the FMO of complicity in human rights violations in connection with the controversial Agua Zarca hydroelectric project.
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News / 20 oktober 2016
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This week, Laura Zuniga Cáceres, daughter of Berta Cáceres*, visits the Netherlands. She will talk with the directors of the involved departments of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, participated in a colloquium about indigenous right of Leiden University and meet with several Dutch NGO's. Both ENDS asked this brave young woman about the situation in Honduras and her motivation to continue her mother's work.
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News / 23 december 2021
2022 is the year for FMO to make good on its promises and provide financial support only to sustainable development
2021 was a turbulent year for Dutch development bank FMO, to say the least. The bank has been under fire for many years for investments linked to human rights violations and suspected corruption. But in the past year, the Dutch press and media have reported on one new development after the other in ongoing cases involving FMO. Below we give a short summary of these cases and call on FMO to make the promised improvements in 2022.
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Large-scale infrastructure
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News / 1 december 2018
7 suspects of the murder of the Honduran Berta Cáceres were found guilty
On Thursday, November 29, seven suspects of the murder of Berta Cáceres (in March 2016) were found guilty. Members of the indigenous human rights organisation COPINH, of which Cáceres was the leader, and close relatives of Cáceres herself see the ruling as the first step towards justice for her murder and the recognition that the company DESA is co-responsible for this. They also point out, however, that the process was permeated with corruption, intimidation and other abuses from the very beginning, and that the masterminds behind the murder are still walking around freely.
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News / 28 juni 2022
In solidarity with daughter of murdered Indigenous leader
On Tuesday 28 June, the Honduran organisation COPINH and the Global Justice Association filed a complaint with the public prosecutor in the Netherlands against Dutch development bank FMO. For COPINH, this is part of their continued efforts to bring to justice those involved in the murder of their leader Berta Cáceres. FMO financed the Agua Zarca project in Honduras in 2014. The new complaint is based on documents indicating that FMO's money has been used improperly.
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Letter / 7 juli 2020
Public letter to urge FMO not to provide a new loan to FICOHSA
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Letter / 22 juli 2024
Joint Call to Action: International Civil Society Demands Justice for Berta Cáceres' Murder Victims in Honduras
This is a joint call to action by international civil society organizations to call upon the Honduran authorities to ensure there is justice for the victims of the murder on Berta Caceres. Eight years and four months have passed since the crime against Berta and the Honduran justice system has not confirmed the sentences of those convicted and has not prosecuted the intellectual authors. We are extremely concerned that independent administration of justice and international agreements on human rights are not being upheld.
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Press release / 10 februari 2021
Transparency at development bank FMO is seriously lacking
The Dutch development bank FMO is not sufficiently transparent about the projects it finances and is therefore acting contrary to its mandate. This is evident from a new report published by the International Accountability Project (IAP) and the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (FUNDEPS), endorsed by 28 organizations including Both ENDS, SOMO, and Oxfam Novib. The research assesses FMO's disclosure and access to information practices for investments proposed between January 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020. Only in 25% of the cases was it disclosed what potential negative consequences an investment by FMO would have for people and the environment.