In the Valley of Death
It’s dangerous to be an activist in Honduras, especially in the Aguan Valley, on the north coast of the country, where palm oil plantations spread as far as the eye can see, and a deadly battle has been going on for decades. When the Dinant Corporation, owned by Miguel Facusse, acquired the land in the 1990s, much of it was allegedly bought illegally from campesino (peasant) farmers, who fought unsuccessful legal battles to get it back. After the 2009 coup d’etat, the campesinos began occupying the plots believed to have been stolen, working the palm themselves. Since then, over 200 campesino land defenders and environmentalists in the area have been killed, by a combination of the Honduran Military, National Police, Private Security guards, and sicarios, believed to have links to the palm oil company. Then a new threat reared its head.
In 2014, the Pinares iron mine was granted a land concession by a corrupt government inside Carlos Escaleras National Park. The company is owned by Miguel Facusse’s daughter and her husband. Campesinos immediately organized an activist group to defend the National Park and the adjacent Guapinol RIver which would inevitably be destroyed and polluted. In the ensuing years, activists from the area were jailed under murky circumstances for defending their environment. Many others were murdered and the mine continued its business.
Most recently, in the month of January 2023, five people challenging the corrupt business forces have been murdered. In 2022, Xiomara Castro was elected president, a left-wing candidate who beat out the now-extradited narco-trafficking president, Juan Orlando Hernandez. She promised to defend human rights and rid the country of corruption, but a year into her presidency everyone is left wondering if she meant what she said, or if she is just another cog in the oligarchy. Honduras continues to be one of the most dangerous countries per capita for land and environmental defenders.
Portions of this story have been published in The Baffler. Licensing by Redux Pictures. Contact sethberryphoto@gmail.com for inquiries.
