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<\/p>\n\u201cWe will use the full extent of our fiscal and legal influence to bring the individuals and the organisation behind these criminal, barbaric acts to justice.\u201d \u2014 The chief of security for DESA, builder of the Agua Zarca dam project opposed by the late Honduran activist Berta C\u00e1ceres, in a text message to company executives and PR representatives on February 21, 2016.<\/p>\n
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Activist Berta C\u00e1ceres<\/em><\/p>\n That message and many others were revealed in a new investigation<\/a> from the Grupo Asesor Internacional de Personas Expertas (GAIPE) into the death of Goldman Prize winner Berta C\u00e1ceres. It\u2019s been 20 months since Berta was assassinated in her own home, and one year since GAIPE formed<\/a> to do what the Honduran government has not: find out who was behind her murder.<\/p>\n Of the eight men accused of killing Berta, not one has been identified as the mastermind behind the crime. Through public records, GAIPE obtained text messages, phone records, emails, photos, and other evidence that the planning, execution, and subsequent cover up of Berta\u2019s murder began in November 2015.<\/p>\n Most importantly, they conclude that DESA, the Honduran government, and the banks financing the Agua Zarca dam all had a role to play<\/strong> in the death of Berta C\u00e1ceres.<\/p>\n 1. The company<\/strong><\/p>\n “I have spent a lot of money and political capital to get these three warrants out.\u201d \u2014 Translation of a text from a DESA executive in 2013 referencing attempts to arrest Berta and two other Indigenous activists.<\/p>\n The Agua Zarca dam project, approved by Honduran officials in 2013, is a multi-million dollar mega-dam that threatens the survival of Honduras\u2019 Indigenous Lenca community and the health of the Gualcarque River. Berta and her organisation COPINH (the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras) were its primary opponents.<\/p>\n The GAIPE investigation revealed that DESA deployed private security forces, hired hitmen, and influenced law enforcement in order to neutralise Berta and other Lenca activists opposing the Agua Zarca dam.<\/p>\n 2. The government<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve requested the commissioner\u2019s help \u2026 and he promised his support. He will share the details of the murder with me and he suggested we make a statement to disassociate ourselves from the event.\u201d \u2014 Translation of a text between executives and employees at DESA sent 14 hour after Berta\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n The investigation also recounts frequent meetings between DESA executives and partners, Honduran government authorities, and security forces<\/strong> as early as 2012. These meetings opened the door for DESA employees to direct police and members of the military toward repressing those who opposed the Agua Zarca dam.<\/p>\n The Honduran Ministry of National Security played a double role in this plan, both providing protection to the Agua Zarca project headquarters and its managers while denying it to Berta at the same time.<\/p>\n 3. The banks<\/strong><\/p>\n DESA did not have enough money on its own to complete construction on the Agua Zarca dam. Funders like the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, Dutch development bank, and Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund) turned a blind eye to its strategy to repress Berta and other activists.<\/p>\n It\u2019s likely that these banks have valuable information pertaining to Berta\u2019s murder that they have not yet made available to investigators.<\/p>\n Activist Berta C\u00e1ceres<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-international-stateless\/2018\/01\/8274a13b-8274a13b-139383_250714..jpg\")
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