Muerte por impunidad: Berta Cáceres y Agua Zarca

The report examines the assassination of environmental defender Berta Cáceres and the role of the Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA) company and its international financiers in the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Honduras. It highlights the failure of voluntary human rights due diligence and calls for binding international legislation to hold corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses.

• Berta Cáceres, an indigenous Lenca leader and environmental defender, was murdered on March 2, 2016, for opposing the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project on the Gualcarque River, which was considered sacred by her community.
• A November 2018 court verdict established that the murder of Berta Cáceres was planned and executed with the "knowledge and consent" of DESA executives, including the company president, David Castillo, as retaliation for protests causing financial losses.
• International financial institutions, specifically the Netherlands' FMO and Finland's Finnfund, continued funding the Agua Zarca project despite receiving multiple warnings from the COPINH regarding human rights violations and the lack of free, prior, and informed consent from the Lenca people.
• The report argues that voluntary frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), are insufficient because they are not legally binding and rely on national implementation, which is lacking in Honduras.
• Honduras is identified as the most dangerous country in the world for environmental activists, with 123 defenders murdered since the 2009 coup d'état, often in conflicts related to hydroelectric, mining, and agribusiness projects.
• The International Expert Advisory Group (GAIPE) concluded that the murder of Berta Cáceres was not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of criminal conspiracy involving state agents and DESA executives to neutralize opposition to the project.

APA

Colsell, S. (2019). Muerte por impunidad: Berta Cáceres y Agua Zarca. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/10-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-ESP-mr-2.pdf

Chicago

Colsell, Sophie. Muerte por impunidad: Berta Cáceres y Agua Zarca. Friends of the Earth International, 2019. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/10-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-ESP-mr-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Colsell |first1=Sophie |title=Muerte por impunidad: Berta Cáceres y Agua Zarca |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=March 2019 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/10-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-ESP-mr-2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{colsell2019muerte, author = {Colsell, Sophie}, title = {{Muerte por impunidad: Berta Cáceres y Agua Zarca}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/10-FoEE-Berta-Caceres-ESP-mr-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }