Honduras arrests four suspects in killing of activist Caceres

[Judi Lynn]

3. Three Former Soldiers Held for the Murder of Honduran Activist Who Wanted to Stop a Dam

Three Former Soldiers Held for the Murder of Honduran Activist Who Wanted to Stop a Dam

By Andalusia Knoll

May 3, 2016 | 5:05 pm

When environmental activist Berta Cáceres was murdered in her home in Honduras on March 2, the country's chief prosecutor said the crime was probably a robbery gone wrong.

Two months of international outrage and significant pressure later and the authorities have announced the arrest of four suspects — two of whom are employed by the company building the massive dam she had dedicated her life to fighting, and three of whom are former soldiers.

"These arrests show us that the assassination of our compañera was coordinated by the government," said José Gaspar Sánchez, spokesman for the same activist group known as the COPINH, to which Cáceres also belonged. "Neither COPINH nor Berta's daughters were notified about these arrests which is very concerning for us."

Cáceres was the best known member of the COPINH, which stands for the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Honduras, and won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015 mainly in the name of their struggle against the Agua Zarca Dam.