Note: Among the major conflicts in Honduras is the struggle for land and food sovereignty being waged by the campesino families of the Aguán valley against some of the most powerful landowners in the country, including African oil palm and biofuels magnate Miguel Facussé. In the past few years, dozens of campesinos have been murdered by Facussé’s private security forces, with the support of the post-coup Honduran government.
To learn more, view the trailer for the upcoming film Resistencia:
http://www.resistenciathefilm.com
-The GJEP Team
By Tracy Wilkinson, June 18, 2013. Source: Los Angeles Times
Presidential candidate Xiomara Castro speaks during a convention by the Free party in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Photo: Alberto Arce / Associated Press / June 16, 2013
MEXICO CITY — Alarmed by what they call troubling reports of human rights atrocities in Honduras, 21 U.S. senators are calling on the Obama administration to review how U.S. money is being spent in support of possibly abusive security forces.
In a letter to Secretary of State John F. Kerry dated Tuesday, the senators cite numerous recent killings and threats targeting union leaders, opposition figures, farmers, students, journalists and others, noting that authorities have been implicated in some of the incidents, most of which go unpunished.
“As the November 2013 [Honduran presidential] elections draw near,” the senators wrote, “we are particularly troubled by reports of corruption and extrajudicial killings.”
Besieged by drug traffickers, vicious gangs and fierce political bloodletting, Honduras suffers one of the highest homicide rates in the Western Hemisphere. Violence has especially surged since the 2009 military coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. Many involved in the coup remain in office. Continue reading
Christy Rodgers
Global Justice Ecology Project
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Jeff Conant
