Hello everyone, happy December!
In today’s newsletter, we'll read how community members mobilized against a polluting power plant, gain insight from firsthand testimonies from campesinos at the frontlines of the agrarian conflict in Honduras, and delve into how climate change is impacting a communities livelihood amidst lack of State support.
Additionally, two things are shared at the bottom of this newsletter: one is a survey you can take to share feedback with the Contracorriente team on ways to improve our CC English content and second is an open call for pitches on art and movement organizing related to the Central American-Palestinian diaspora. :)
Thank you for reading!
Amy Patricia Morales
English Editor
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🗞️ Local community against polluting power plant
☕ Agrarian conflict and transnational repression
✈️ Migration update
🌎 Central American News Roundup
📚 Additional reading recommendations
🌟 Take our survey!
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Popular assembly rejects proposal by EMCO group
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Photo || CC Fernando Destephen
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Nearly 2,000 people, representatives of diverse communities in the municipality of Tocoa, Colón, filled the auditorium of the Froylán Turcios Institute to demonstrate their solidarity against the energy generation project of the Ecotek Plant, of the EMCO Group.
These groups responded to the call from Mayor Adán Fúnez, who in meetings of the municipal corporation had promoted the creation of the council, announcing it directly as a "council for socialization and approval," without giving the option of consultation that would lead to the rejection of the project.
Environmental organizations and local residents point to ongoing human rights violations associated with businessman Lenir Pérez's investments in the country as grounds for their opposition to the project. For example, the legal persecution faced by opponents to the project and, specifically in this instance, the plant's proposal to utilize petcoke for energy generation. Petcoke, according to the Center for the Study of Democracy (Cespad) is one of the most environmentally harmful and carbon-intensive electricity generators.
The last town hall meeting convened to make decisions regarding extractivism in the municipality dates back to November 2019, when Adán Fúnez, accompanied by the current presidential advisor and general coordinator of Libre, Manuel Zelaya, faced a hostile reception as they were booed by the attendees. Despite the attendees' vote declaring the municipality free of mining, mine operations continued.
The Ecotek power plant belongs to the business group headed by Lenir Perez, who also owns the controversial Palmerola International Airport concession, and whose house in Wellington, Florida, US, was inspected by the FBI in April 2023. Funez has also been mentioned in trials in the United States for his relationship with Honduran drug traffickers.
The Tocoa municipality and the Ecotek company, part of the EMCO group, are currently under investigation by the Special Prosecutor's Office for Transparency and Combating Public Corruption (FETCCOP) for the alleged adulteration of a municipal town hall meeting minutes, in order to comply with the project's socialization requirement.
On this occasion, without the backing of the top leader of his party, Fúnez was weak, and his attempt to approve the project was reversed in the popular assembly, in which the communities ratified their rejection of the projects promoted by Grupo Emco's companies.
Read more here
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Photo | CC
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Violent eviction of Campesinos in El Aguán
Violence against campesino families, and legal actions against leaders in Bajo Aguán, in northern Honduras, intensify almost two years after the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Government, the Coordination of Popular Organizations of Aguán (COPA) and Plataforma Agraria that sought a solution to the conflict.
The most recent developments took place on November 24, when 100 families from EACI were evicted. Approximately 900 police officers and members of the Cobra special forces carried out the eviction. Denunciations by campesino organizations of fraud and irregularities in the acquisition of that land by Empresa Agrícola Santa Inés, a subsidiary of Dole Food Company, have not been addressed.
On October 14, these families relocated to the Guanacaste, La Paz, and Esperanza farms, located in the community of Isletas, in the municipality of Sonaguera, department of Colón. Kevin Meza, a 24-year-old Honduran and member of EACI, was murdered that evening. Campesinos describe that evening as an ambush from National Police and private security guards of the company, a version that matches with that of the Secretariat of Human Rights (Secretaría de Derechos Humanos).
Another eviction was carried out on October 2, in which 800 police officers executed a court order, displacing families from EACI in a different location within the municipality of Sonaguera. Vast quantities of banana are produced in this land and later exported by Dole Fruit Company to the U.S. According to the Center for Democracy Studies (Centro de Estudio para la Democracia - Cespad), this is the focal point of the Aguán conflict.
Despite the signing of an agreement between the Castro administration, the Coordination of Popular Organisations of Aguán (COPA) and Plataforma Agraria in February 2022 to investigate human rights violations and to find a solution to the land conflict in Aguán Valley, evictions and murders still remain a regular occurrence. According to data from the campesino movement, ten environmental activists and land defenders have been murdered in 2023 alone.
We invite you to read here
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✈️ Migration Update: Mexico and U.S deepen collaboration on border security
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During a call on Thursday, December 21st, President Joe Biden and President AMLO agreed that tougher enforcement at the border between Mexico-U.S is needed. Currently, the U.S faces pressure by agricultural groups as it closed two rail crossings along the Texas-Mexico border to prevent further migrant crossings, however disrupting trade routes that have resulted in export losses.
US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and US Homeland Security adviser Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, will travel to Mexico in the coming days to meet with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on the issue.
Additionally, congressional negotiations are still underway as President Biden calls for increase in aid for Ukraine and Israel, while Republicans urge compromise on border enforcement policy. Some of the issues under discussion are: asylum standards, humanitarian parole and fast-track deportation authority.
AP News broke-down what these changes could look like in practice, read here
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Central American News Roundup 🌎
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🇬🇹 Guatemala- Despite the confirmation by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) affirming the results of the 2023 General Elections, the protests continue with their demands for the resignation of Attorney General Conseulo Porras, Prosecutors Rafael Curruchiche, Cinthia Monterroso and Judge Fredi Orellana. These officials, according to protestors, are part of a corrupt conspiracy aimed at orchestrating a coup d’etat.
On December 1st, the ruling-party-led Congress on Friday stripped four electoral judges of their immunity from prosecution as they face accusations of committing fraud and breach of duty for using a software to transmit preliminary election results. The move by Congress is seen as an attempt to appoint judges who oppose Arevalo's election and is the latest in a series of measures that could hinder the transition of power, as reported here. Previous attempts were made at stripping President-elect Bernardo Arévalo of his immunity as well.
Curruchiche, Pineda, amongst other prosecutors and a judge were were added to the list of people barred from acquiring US visas on Thursday, December 21st. According to the report, they are accused of arranging politically motivated investigations with the goal of disrupting the democratic transfer of power to President-elect Bernardo Arévalo. Read more here on the latest developments.
🇸🇻 El Salvador- El Salvador's Congress has enacted a migration law that grants foreigners who make bitcoin "donations" to government social and economic development programs expedited citizenship. The unicameral legislature enacted the reform in a vote late Wednesday evening, with support from President Nayib Bukele's New Ideas party. The law is set to take effect in the following days.
🇳🇮 Nicaragua - CNN reported Nicaraguan police arrested a second bishop on Thursday, as part of President Daniel Ortega's government's broad crackdown on opposition figures and the Catholic Church. According to the sources, Bishop Isidoro Mora of the Siuna church on the country's Caribbean coast was arrested after participating in a mass to commemorate the anniversary of the Matagalpa church.
Read more here an article Contracorriente authored on the growing incarceration rates of Catholic Church priests in Nicaragua.
🇧🇿 Belize- Belize maintains its position on suspending diplomatic activities in Israel, withdrawing its ambassador and suspending all activities of the Israeli consulate in Belize, cancelling the accreditation of the Israeli Consul. Belize joins Colombia, Honduras, Chile, and Bolivia in severing diplomatic relations with Israel and calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
🇨🇷 Costa Rica- The Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) detained 29 individuals affiliated with the notorious criminal organization commanded by Alejandro Arias Monge, also known as Diablo. Diablo is known as one of Costa Rica's most wanted drug traffickers. The activities took place throughout the Limón province, including Santa Rosa, Colorado, Ticabán, La Rita, Pococ, Roxana, and Barra del Colorado. In addition, actions were conducted in El Tanque and La Fortuna de San Carlos, San José's Coronado and Montes de Oca, and Heredia's Sarapiqui, as reported by Tico Times.
🇵🇦 Panama- In 2023, a rainfall shortfall caused Lake Gatun water levels to plummet. Use of the canal by local population and containers have resulted in a 3 billion litres-per-day water shortage in the lake. The water level in Lake Gatun is now close to the lowest recorded during a wet season, causing the Panama Canal authority, which controls the waterway, to limit the number of vessels passing through. Read here how this years driest season in Panama, with less than 41% of rainfall than usual, impacts both locals and global actors.
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Illustration || Generated with Canva AI
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It’s been eight months since Ana Hernández was found dead at her home, south of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Her family still doesn’t know the results of the autopsy, which would determine if Ana was a victim of femicide. Recently, her father was issued a certificate to claim the corpse and a crime report by the District Attorney’s Office, but the results of the autopsy were not revealed. For Ana’s family this is another sign of the impunity that surrounds not just her case, but many others in Honduras.
We invite you to read here. This story is a part of our Contracorriente special covering violence against women and the culture of impunity that perpetuates it. "El Estado versus Ellas or The State Versus Them," learn more here.
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Photo | CC Amilcar Izaguirre
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Christina is a 38-year-old trans woman and community leader in the Rivera Hernandez sector; she is the president of the patronage in Brisas del Sauce and a well-known National Party activist.
On the night of November 24, Christina Portillo was taken from her business in the Rivera Hernández sector of San Pedro Sula by men dressed as members of the Anti Maras, Gangs and Organized Crime Police Directorate (Dipampco), witnesses told Contracorriente. To this day, the authorities have not responded to the family about her whereabouts.
Since December 2022, Honduras has been in a state of emergency, with police frequently conducting operations in areas as part of anti-drug trafficking efforts. Josiris, sister of the disappeared woman, informed this newspaper that on the night in question at the bar, the alleged police officers entrance appeared like a routine operation. However, she noted an unusual aspect in the aggressive manner of the search. According to her account, the alleged agents engaged in disruptive behavior, confiscated identification, and took photographs of both sisters and two customers present that night. She assured that she went to the First Police Station, to check if they had brought her sister there, but she found no trace of her.
Read more here
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Heavy rain showed that Valle de Sula, an alluvial plain valley located in northwestern Honduras, remains vulnerable to climate change. In El Progreso, Yoro, inhabitants of the Zelaya Castro neighborhood waited for a visit from President Xiomara Castro, which was later canceled. After waiting for several hours, their hope of receiving help from the government turned to frustration and dissatisfaction.
Read here how this community is calling on the State to improve its infrastructure to mitigate future floods.
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NarcoFiles: The New Criminal Order, is a transnational journalistic investigation into global organized crime. A project led by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in partnership with Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Periodística (CLIP), began with a leak of emails from the Colombian Prosecutor’s Office that was shared with InSight Crime and more than 40 media outlets around the world.
Click here to read Contracorriente's piece on coca cultivation in Honduras and the drug trade that sustains it.
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Reminder! At our CC English event last month, we sought your feedback on ways to improve our current work and identify what is currently lacking from CC English content that you would like to see more of.
I invite you to answer these questions to provide us with greater understanding of what you (the reader!) is interested in seeing from us at CC English.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to reading through your responses!
Click here for survey!
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📝 If you're interested in writing an op-ed piece or want your art featured in our newsletter, email us at ccenglish@contracorriente.red 🎨
We especially want to hear from diverse voices - please consider submitting! We look forward to hearing from you.
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