Berta Caceres murder: ex-Honduran military intelligence officer arrested

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Berta Cáceres murder: ex-Honduran military intelligence officer arrested

• David Castillo Mejía ran company building controversial dam
• Environmental campaigner Cáceres killed exactly two years ago

Nina Lakhani
Fri 2 Mar 2018 20.40 GMT Last modified on Fri 2 Mar 2018 23.01 GMT

Honduran authorities have arrested a former military intelligence officer for masterminding the murder of the indigenous leader Berta Cáceres, who was shot dead exactly two years ago today.

David Castillo Mejía, the executive president of the company building a dam which Cáceres campaigned against, is the ninth person arrested for the murder, and the fourth with ties to the Honduran military.

Castillo Mejía is accused by arresting authorities of providing logistical support and other resources to one of the hitmen already charged.

He is the first person to be charged as being the “intellectual author” of Cáceres’s murder and the attempted murder of Mexican environmentalist Gustavo Castro.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/02/berta-caceres-death-murder-ex-honduran-military-intelligence-officer-arrested

[Judi Lynn]

1. Pure evil. He should never see the light of day again. This has been all too common in the Americas.

They have utter contempt, and hatred for the Native Americans, think absolutely nothing about harming, terrorizing, mutilating, murdering them in order to get them out of the road of their money prospects.

David Castillo Mejía needs a dose of what he did to a truly good, heroic, courageous woman who put others' well-being before her own safety. These monsters will be dead a long time while Berta Cáceres' name will live on. Goodness endures, it matters, no matter how much these right-wing demons try to destroy it.

[Judi Lynn]

2. HONDURAS: ARREST OF DESA EXECUTIVE MUST BE FOLLOWED BY FURTHER ACTION AGAINST THOSE BEHIND THE KILLI

03/05/2018
HONDURAS: ARREST OF DESA EXECUTIVE MUST BE FOLLOWED BY FURTHER ACTION AGAINST THOSE BEHIND THE KILLING OF BERTA
CÁCERES
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Following the Honduran authorities’ decision to charge Roberto David Castillo, the executive president of Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA), for his involvement in the killing of environmental human rights defender Berta Cáceres, Erika Guevara-Rosas, the director of Amnesty International in the Americas, said:

“The investigation into the alleged role of senior members of DESA, the company building the dam that Berta Cáceres campaigned against, in her brutal murder two years ago, was long overdue. But the buck must not stop here. The authorities must ensure that all those implicated in the killing of Berta Cáceres are brought before justice in fair trials.”

“Last year, a team of international experts presented evidence indicating that other high-ranking state agents and DESA executives may have been involved in ordering Berta’s killing. Honduran authorities must continue the investigations, and if sufficient evidence exists, bring charges against all those involved in the killing, including those who ordered the crime.”

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/honduras-arrest-of-desa-executive-must-be-followed-by-further-action-against-those-behind-the-killing-of-berta-caceres/