Solidarity with Organized Campesino Cooperatives in the Bajo Aguán
SOLIDARITY WITH ORGANIZED CAMPESINO COOPERATIVES IN THE BAJO AGUÁN WHO FACE ATTACKS AND FORCED DISPLACEMENT BY CRIMINAL GROUPS LINKED TO PALM-OIL GIANT, DINANT
For over a month, an armed group with links to the palm-oil giant, Dinant, has violently attacked campesino families organized within the Tranvío, Camarones, and El Chile cooperatives in Tocoa, Colón, Honduras.
On December 24, 2024, this armed group forcibly displaced families organized with the Camarones Cooperative, threatening and shooting at the cooperative members, as well as at police officers who were in the area, with high-caliber weapons including AK-47s and AR-15s. The Camarones farm has been under the control of the armed group ever since.
On Monday, January 27, the armed group shot live rounds from high-caliber weapons on multiple occasions, while sympathizers of the armed group and Dinant blockaded the area around the Tranvío Cooperative, trapping everyone in the farms, including community members, police officers, and two U.S. journalists. Reports indicate that one person was shot, while another was kidnapped and tortured.
On Wednesday, January 29, the Chile Cooperative was violently displaced from part of their farm by the same armed group. These attacks occurred in the presence of police officers.
We stand in solidarity with the Tranvío, Camarones, and Chile cooperatives, who have faced increased attacks and forced displacement from these armed groups at the service of agroindustrial corporations.
We strongly condemn this violence and call on the State of Honduras to implement effective protective measures to safeguard the lives of campesino families.
Additionally, we demand that the Honduran government conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into these violent attacks to hold the perpetrators and masterminds of these crimes accountable.
We denounce Dinant’s violent operations in the Bajo Aguán which have led to gross human rights violations and condemn the historical support that they have received from U.S. government agencies and the World Bank.