Honduras Mayor Arrested in Connection with Environmental Activists Murder

Three individuals, including Adan Funez, a former mayor of Tocoa, have been arrested in Honduras on suspicion of involvement in the 2024 assassination of environmental leader Juan Lopez. The arrests were made at Funez’s home on Tuesday, with prosecutors accusing him and two others of masterminding the killing.

Funez was previously accused by religious and environmental leaders of plotting Lopez’s death, following years of accusations over corruption and environmental issues in the area. Lopez had been a vocal critic of Funez, who supported an iron oxide mining project that activists claimed endangered local ecosystems.

Lopez was shot six times in the chest and once in the head in September 2024, prompting international condemnation and demands for justice. The incident has drawn comparisons to the 2016 murder of Honduran environmentalist Berta Caceres, which sparked global outcry.

Funez’s arrest comes over a year after Lopez’s assassination, with prosecutors alleging that he, along with businessman Hector Eduardo Méndez and Juan Angel Ramos Gallegos, were involved in criminal association. The three men are set to face trial next June.

The environmental community has long faced threats and violence in Honduras, with Global Witness documenting 117 killings of environmental defenders in Latin America in 2024 alone. Eight activists were previously imprisoned for more than two years in retaliation for their work on the mining project.

Funez’s detention has been welcomed by some, who have called for justice to be served. “We’ve been calling for justice for so long,” said Dalila Santiago, a close friend and leader of Lopez’s movement. “And we need the masterminds behind this to be caught and punished.”

Source: Al Jazeera