... We write to express our concern over the Honduran government’s treatment of human rights activists known as the “Guapinol Water Defenders.” These activists are fighting for the survival of their communities by protecting natural resources from open pit iron ore mining in the Carlos Escaleras National Park. Eight of the Guapinol Water Defenders have been held without bail in pre-trial detention for more than a year. Five more are at risk of detention after an appeals court reversed their acquittals and inexplicably reinstated charges. We are also deeply concerned that the U.S. has not yet denounced the killing on October 13th of community activist Arnold Joaquín Morazán Erazo, the latest in a horrific pattern of killings of environmental defenders in Honduras. We call on the State Department to pressure the Government of Honduras government to protect human rights and environmental defenders, address the coordinated campaigns of social media threats and intimidation against them, and investigate and prosecute those responsible for their killings. The Guapinol Water Defenders are leaders with the Municipal Committee in Defense of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) in Tocoa, Honduras. They are charged with aggravated arson and unjust detention related to complaints filed by the Pinares mining company, but there is strong reason to believe that these charges were brought in reprisal for their internationally recognized work to protect the resources of the Carlos Escaleras National Park...