2021-07-06 11:38:26

Glimmer of Hope in Honduras: Ex-Dam CEO & West Point Grad Convicted in Murder of Berta Cáceres

A former U.S.-trained Honduran military officer and businessman has been found guilty of plotting the assassination of Berta Cáceres, the award-winning Lenca land and water defender killed in 2016.

The Honduran Supreme Court ruled unanimously that David Castillo, the former president of the hydroelectric corporation DESA, was a co-perpetrator in Cáceres’s murder.

Cáceres was assassinated as she led the fight against the construction of DESA’s massive hydroelectric dam on a river in southwestern Honduras that is sacred to the Lenca people. Seven hired hitmen were convicted of her murder in 2018 and sentenced in 2019.

Castillo’s conviction this week comes just days after Honduras marked the 12th anniversary of the 2009 U.S.-backed coup.

“This is the first time in 12 years that we have seen any kind of justice in Honduras,” says Honduran scholar Suyapa Portillo Villeda, an associate professor at Pitzer College and the author of “Roots of Resistance: A Story of Gender, Race, and Labor on the North Coast of Honduras.”

Democracy Now! produces a daily, global, independent news hour hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González. lOur reporting includes breaking daily news headlines and in-depth interviews with people on the front lines of the world’s most pressing issues. 

On DN!, you’ll hear a diversity of voices speaking for themselves, providing a unique and sometimes provocative perspective on global events.

Missed an episode?  Check out DN on FSTV VOD anytime or visit the show page for the latest clips.

#FreeSpeechTV is one of the last standing national, independent news networks committed to advancing progressive social change. 

#FSTV is available on Dish, DirectTV, AppleTV, Roku, Sling, and online at freespeech.org.

Amy Goodman Berta Cáceres David Castillo Democracy Now! DESA Free Speech TV Honduran Supreme Court Honduras Lenca Land Lenca People United States

Human Rights and Equality

Democracy Now!

38 Die in Fire Inside Mexican Immigration Jail Amid Broader Crackdown Near U.S. Border

38 Die in Fire Inside Mexican Immigration Jail Amid Broader Crackdown Near U.S. Border

The Randi Rhodes' Show

Women Are in Jeopardy!

Women Are in Jeopardy!

Rising Up With Sonali

How Black Mothers in Nevada Fought for Welfare Rights and Dignity

How Black Mothers in Nevada Fought for Welfare Rights and Dignity

Rising Up With Sonali

Judging the Judges: Taking on Pretrial Injustice

Judging the Judges: Taking on Pretrial Injustice

Rising Up With Sonali

Antiwar Lessons, 20 Years After the Iraq War Invasion

Antiwar Lessons, 20 Years After the Iraq War Invasion

Democracy Now!

Death, Destruction & Resilience: Nadje Al-Ali on the 20th Anniversary of U.S. Invasion of Iraq

Death, Destruction & Resilience: Nadje Al-Ali on the 20th Anniversary of U.S. Invasion of Iraq

Democracy Now!

China’s Middle East Deal: Iran & Saudi Arabia Reestablish Relations as U.S. Watches from Sidelines

China’s Middle East Deal: Iran & Saudi Arabia Reestablish Relations as U.S. Watches from Sidelines

Democracy Now!

Matt Duss on Biden's State of the Union & the Risks of an Anti-China Consensus in Washington

Matt Duss on Biden's State of the Union & the Risks of an Anti-China Consensus in Washington

Related

Democracy Now!

"Bootstrapped": Alissa Quart on Liberating Ourselves from the Myth of the American Dream

"Bootstrapped": Alissa Quart on Liberating Ourselves from the Myth of the American Dream

Democracy Now!

38 Die in Fire Inside Mexican Immigration Jail Amid Broader Crackdown Near U.S. Border

38 Die in Fire Inside Mexican Immigration Jail Amid Broader Crackdown Near U.S. Border

Democracy Now!

Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 29, 2023

Top U.S. & World Headlines — March 29, 2023

Democracy Now!

Navajo Nation Fights for Water Rights & Access to Colorado River as West Battles Historic Drought

Navajo Nation Fights for Water Rights & Access to Colorado River as West Battles Historic Drought

Proud Partners