By: Coordinator of Popular Organizations of the Aguán (COPA) & the Agrarian Platform
Date: April 25, 2022
** Quick and rough translation. Español abajo **
With the increase in the wave of violence that has been unleashed in the Lower Aguán region and the massacre on April 24th, 2022 of three National Police officials that were shot and killed
Organizations, associated companies, cooperatives, and small farmers (campesinos) organized in the Agrarian Platform and the Coordinator of Popular Organizations of the Lower Aguán (COPA), we communicate to the Honduran people, international community, media, and human rights organizations the following:
- We express our deepest condolences and solidarity to the families of Jairo Posadas, Jonathan Ramos, and Juan Murillo, the three National Police agents that were murdered in the Agua Amarilla community, in the municipality of Trujillo. They are now part of the thousands of Honduran workers of the Honduran people that are mourning the loss of their loved ones in defense of the people.
- We inform you that this tragedy is the most recent in a wave of violence that has affected the Lower Aguán region since the beginning of the year but that has worsened in the last few weeks. It coincides with declarations given by former Congress representative Oscar Nájera, and Adán Funes, the Governor of Colón and who is also the mayor of Tocoa, that practically call for the use of weapons in the department by requesting that the disarmament decree 177-2012 by overturned.
- We support the decision of the government of President Xiomara Castro in taking effective actions to carry out an investigation, arrest, judicial prosecution, and dismantling of the criminal structures on all levels in the Lower Aguán region.
- We show our concern for the incident that took place just hours after a judicial commission was sworn in in the Lawyers College (Colegio de Abogados) in the city of Tocoa. This judicial commission is in charge of reviewing historical complaints of the campesino sector in the Aguán Valley against the illegal plunder of lands part of the agrarian reform. The judicial commission is the result of an agreement signed on February 22 [2022] between President Xiomara Castro’s government and campesino organizations that are members of the Agrarian Platform and COPA. This plunder was carried out by economic groups that during the last twelve years, form part of criminal network and that have assaulted the state and the Honduran people.
- Through the entire existence of our organizations, we have denounced to you, the people of Honduras, before state authorities, and to the international community, the actions of these criminal groups, and with particular worry, we have denounced that during the last twelve years, paramilitary groups and death squads have attacked campesino communities and controlled African palm plantations part of the agrarian reform. Even though on the ground, you may observe these groups coordinating with supposed African palm business people, and also some military officials, certain narratives are reported by the media and in social media networks that seek to confuse these armed criminal groups with the campesino movement as a criminalization strategy.
- We fear that the terrible massacre of three police officials could have occurred with the objective of affecting the important actions that are being carried out by the government of President Xiomara Castro to resolve the problems that keep the Aguán in a state of poverty and constant violence, as the implementation of the agreement was signed and initiated between the government and campesino organizations as legitimate struggles for our rights and in defense of the agrarian reform.
- We remind you that on June 23, 2009, a very active COPA leader that promoted a similar process similar to the commission that was formed yesterday, Fabio Ochoa, suffered an attack that left him with severe brain damage that impaired his ability to communicate. Similar to yesterday’s massacre, this criminal incident occurred right after an agreement was signed with the government of Manuel Zelaya, promoted by a high-level commission, that was to elaborate a report about the methods used to steal lands that are part of the agrarian reform.
- We encourage the actions undertaken to investigate the assassinations of the three police officials, while at the same time, calling on authorities to put in place similar measures to investigate the 150 murders of land defenders that have occurred in the context of the agrarian conflict that have remained in impunity during the last 12 years.
- We publicly recognize the government of President Xiomara Castro for the actions that are underway to respond to social demands, renew the state’s commitment to the agrarian reform, repair historical human rights violations, and recover the goods of the Honduran people. In the same manner, we call on the Honduran people and the international community to support these actions, and to maintain clarity and clear with respect to the recent attacks and disinformation campaigns.
Published in the city of Tocoa on April 25, 2022.
