"Violent murder of Garífuna leader in Honduras denounced", 29 January 2023

...The Honduran Black Fraternal Organization (Ofraneh) and the Land Defense Committee denounced...the vicious murder of the young Ricardo Arnaúl Montero, who was an “active member of the Land Defense Committee of the Garífuna community of Triunfo de la Cruz”...

In addition, he worked as part of the protection and security team of the Gama River sector, located in the vicinity of the Secundino Torres recovered territory, which is communal property and is located within the Punta Izopo National Park...

Ofraneh’s statement emphasized that “given the contempt for the lives of our people and the high level of impunity that prevails in this country, we demand that the State assume its legal duty and due diligence and initiate an exhaustive investigation of this new vile and cowardly murder.” ”.

Members of the Triunfo de la Cruz and Ofraneh community have repeatedly denounced the death threats against members of the land committee and the commission for compliance with the community’s sentence, allegedly behind which powerful financial interests were involved.

According to the press, to date they have not received a response from the authorities regarding these complaints or regarding the return to the community of the Playa Escondido sector. The communities claim this lot as theirs and await a ruling for its return issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights...