"Oqueli Domínguez Murdered in Guapinol", 15 June 2023

...Oqueli Dominguez Ramos was murdered in his home in Guapinol. Oqueli is the brother of Alí Domínguez, also killed by unknown persons on a motorcycle, along with Jairo Bonilla, on January 7, 2023 in Guapinol. Both are brothers of internationally recognized defender Reynaldo Domínguez, who has been systematically persecuted by the Honduran State through criminalization and the victim of smear and defamation campaigns for his work defending and protecting Carlos Escaleras National Park.

Oqueli's mother was injured during the armed attack, which occurred a few days after the Los Pinares mining company of Lenir Perez's Emco Group massively laid off hundreds of employees for unknown reasons, further provoking an environment of fear and risk for defenders in the region.

Despite calls for the Honduran State to protect all defenders in the area, and to conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the previous violence and killings, as well as the illegalities committed by Grupo Emco, there has been no response from the authorities and the wave of violence has only worsened, leaving defenders in the area in a situation of total vulnerability. The cause of the violence is the illegal mining project, which has only caused death and destruction.

The Honduran State must take immediate and concrete actions to protect the defenders of the Municipal Committee and their families and immediately initiate a prompt and independent investigation by qualified authorities in Tegucigalpa...