Twelve environmental and human rights defenders were sent to jail for protecting the drinking water of 14 communities in Guapinol, Honduras. In total, 32 defenders have been criminalized for opposing a mining project from the private company Los Pinares. The original charge against them is blocking the road during an attempted eviction on 7 September. Twelve of those defenders presented voluntarily to the court to confront the charges against them. However, they were arrested on the spot for the new charge of Illicit Association, even though the charge of Illicit Association does not apply to the acts that the human rights defenders are accused of. The charge of Illicit Association mandates preventive detention. Other charges were added, including arson and illegal detention. These defenders have been stigmatized on social media and the press by staff from COPA, the Catholic Church-affiliated San Alonso Foundation, and the Tocoa Parish.