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News > Latin America

The Sole Witness of Berta Caceres' Murder Speaks Out

  • Gustavo Castro Soto was held in Honduran custody for 30 days after he witnessed the murder of activist Berta Caceres.

    Gustavo Castro Soto was held in Honduran custody for 30 days after he witnessed the murder of activist Berta Caceres. | Photo: Reuters

Published 19 April 2016
Opinion

Gustavo Castro, the sole witness of the murder of activist Berta Caceres, shares details of the attack.

In an interview with The Intercept, Gustavo Castro, the sole witness of the March 3 murder of Honduran activist Berta Caceres, reveals details from the night of the attack, his treatment as a witness and the challenges of doing environmental activism in Latin America.

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Castro was also shot during the attack. He arrived in Honduras on March 1 to conduct a workshop on environmentalism. The night of the incident, Caceres invited him over. Sensing the home was too isolated, Castro decided to spend the night. At midnight, there was a bang on the door, a hit man entered and immediately assassinated Caceres and then shot Castro.

Long before her murder, Caceres had repeatedly said she was being harassed by Desarrollos Energeticos, SA, the private energy company behind the Agua Zarca dam which she vehemently opposed. Because of her direct confrontation with the company, Caceres' family immediately pointed to DESA in the wake of her murder.

Honduran public prosecutors, at first allegedly tried to involve Castro in the crime but after running in circles, had to eventually turn to DESA. On March 31, they announced they had seized weapons and documents from DESA's office and had questioned several employees.

Following the murder, Castro spent a month in Honduran custody, where he was left legally defenseless. He was supposed to have left the Mexican embassy, where he was staying, a couple of days after the incident, but officials told him he had to stay 30 days more. When Castro´s lawyer tried to point out that this was illegal because it was based on international human rights laws regarding suspects, she was removed from the case by the judge.

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Castro remarked that the government wanted him under its control, considering it has no laws to protect victims or human rights activists. With its lack of regulations, Castro said, they could have accused him of anything and the Mexican embassy wouldn't have been able to do anything.

Environmental activism is difficult in Latin America in part because of free trade agreements with the U.S., Canada and Europe, according to Castro. These agreements mean changing a country's constitution, environmental legislations and foreign investments. If a country resists this, companies sue so governments find it easier to suppress communities' concerns about environmentally hazardous projects than pay billions of dollars in compensation to companies. Castro stated that this will only deepen with deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The activist said he would continue his fight for environmental and human rights and that he is not alone in his pursuance for a better tomorrow.

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