Cáceres, winner of the Goldman Award for environmentalists, was shot dead by mercenaries on March 2, 2016, two days before her 45th birthday, after years of threats linked to her opposition to the 22-megawatt Agua Zarca Dam on the river. Gualcarque. On Monday, Roberto David Castillo – the former head of the hydroelectric dam company Desarrollos Energéticos, or Desa – was convicted of his role in ordering and plotting the murder. The sentence was handed down almost a year after Castillo was found guilty and below the 25-year mark – a verdict handed down by Cσεceres’s supporters outside the Tegucigalpa Supreme Court. Castillo will be called upon to carry out public works coordinated by the penitentiary service as part of his sentence and is responsible for any future civil claims brought by the victims, the court ruled. Cáceres, coordinator of the Municipal Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh), was best known for defending the territory and natural resources of the indigenous Lenca, but was also a respected political analyst, advocate for women’s rights and advocate fighter. Her youngest daughter, Laura Zúñiga Cáceres, welcomed the sentencing as another step in the fight for justice. “This is a significant step forward, but crime masterminds continue to enjoy impunity thanks to their political and economic power. “As victims of this crime, we, her family, members of Copinh and the people of Lenca will continue to demand justice from the state of Honduras.” Castillo is the eighth person convicted of killing Cσεceres. The court found that he was killed because he led the campaign to stop the construction of the dam, which led to delays and financial losses for the dam company controlled by members of a powerful tribe. Castillo used paid informants as well as his military contacts and skills to monitor Caceres for years, information which was fed back to company executives. He coordinated, planned and received the money to pay for the assassination of the internationally recognized leader, which was carried out by seven men convicted in December 2018. Castillo’s sentence is significantly lower than the other seven convicts, who were sentenced to between 30 and 50 years in prison due to recent changes in the penal code. Outside the court, supporters gathered around a spiritual offer and demanded that the authorities continue the investigation until those who ordered, paid, allowed and benefited from the murder are brought to justice and brought to justice. “David Castillo is just one link in the chain of command that ordered the assassination of leader Coping,” the group said. “The Lenca people’s fight for justice will not stop.” During last year’s 49-day trial, Daniel Atala Midence, Desa’s chief financial officer, was called in to testify about his role in running the business with Castillo – which included authorizing payments to whistleblowers used to track Cáceres. But Atala Midence was acquitted at the last minute, after state prosecutors revealed he was under investigation for the murder. No further details were given, but after Castillo’s conviction, the court ordered that the case file be kept secret as the investigation remains open. Atala Midence’s father and two uncles, the Atala Zablah brothers, who belong to one of the most powerful economic and political families in the country, are the majority shareholders of the dam company. There is no suggestion from prosecutors that they were involved in the murder. The project on the Gualcarque River, considered sacred by the Lenca people, was approved even though it did not comply with national and international environmental and community requirements. Castillo is also facing charges of fraud in a separate dam licensing case, scheduled to begin in July. Desa board member Jacobo Atala Zablah will be invited to testify.
