Last March 2 marked the third anniversary of the murder of Berta Cáceres, executed by soldiers and employees of the company (DESA), owned by the Atala-Faraj clan, without any intellectual author having been convicted to date.
The investigation into Berta’s murder was, from the beginning, hindered and distorted by the security forces and justice officials, who conspired to obstruct the investigations and thus conceal any evidence that might involve the perpetrators.
Maccih’s recent presentation of the “Fraud over the Gualcarque” case demonstrated the perpetual absence of due diligence in Honduras and the way in which justice officials purposefully intervene to obstruct the application of the law.
Berta Cáceres was sentenced to death by a feudal and patriarchal system that has historically controlled Honduras by engaging in the exploitation and destruction of Mother Earth and by treating humans as though they were mere commodities.
The persecution unleashed in Honduras against the defenders of Mother Earth is an integral part of a state policy, to the extent that some officials have publicly declared that “there could be foreign political forces that are interested in boycotting national investment,” a pretext with which they endorsed the creation of special security forces to protect “investments,” as well as unleashing a fierce judicial persecution against those who defend Mother Earth.
The publication by the law firm Amstermand & Partnes, titled “War against Development“, in which they present a biased perspective with the purpose of whitewashing the image of DESA and the Atala clan, is an indicator of the capacity for manipulation and defamation that the power elite has in Honduras. Attempting to portray the defenders of the land as enemies of development and ignorant demonstrates the arrogance of the business elite and judicial hit men such as Amsterdam & Partners who appear on the scene as birds of prey.
The implosion in Honduras, accompanied by a new upsurge in violence and a mass exodus, is an ominous sign of economic and environmental collapse. The disgrace for Honduras caused by the assassination of Berta Cáceres is singular, especially when the facts confirm the existence of bias in the application of justice in relation to the concealment of the actual perpetrators, who are the very same who instigated the coup d’état and have been destroying institutions and looting Honduras.
As long as there is no justice in this premeditated murder, everything leads us to conclude that Berta’s assassination was a state crime.
La Ceiba, March 7, 2019
Honduran Black Fraternal Organization
Translation by Internationalist 360°
