"‘Go home’: Honduran islanders fight against crypto colonialists", 05 July 2022

...When the new Honduran government repealed a pair of laws in late April that had allowed for the creation of semi-autonomous zones called a Zede, it sent a similar message. But investors in the Zede on Roatán, known as Honduras Próspera, have challenged the move.

“When investing in Honduras, Honduras Próspera, Inc. relied on specific legal stability guarantees from Honduras that the rights and authorities provided by the Zede legal framework would remain in effect as to Próspera for many decades,” wrote investors in a statement published on 4 May,...

Representatives of Próspera have said that they informed the community of their intentions in June 2019, citing a document that was signed by a couple dozen residents that contains the word Zede, but doesn’t explain what it is.

...Própsera posted on its website drawings of three stages of expansion that appeared to include the center of Crawfish Rock within its jurisdiction, stoking fears that investors could invoke a legal clause that would allow for the expropriation of the land the community has lived on for generations. Representatives of Próspera promised that they would not go that route, but their words provided little comfort.

...Just before the repeal, Próspera announced a new round of investments totaling $60m and the adoption of the cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender. In the weeks and months since, the company has continued to operate...

Government officials said that any Zede currently operating has one year to conform to another kind of legal framework. But investors cite a sunset clause in the Zede law that gives them a term of at least 10 years...