“Let us wake up, humankind! We’re out of time. We must shake our conscience free of the rapacious capitalism, racism and patriarchy that will only assure our own self-destruction.”
March 2 marks the 3-year anniversary of the assassination of internationally renowned environmental leader and hero of the Lenca nation, Berta Cáceres. Cáceres was an Indigenous defender of the land and water who was murdered by the Honduran government and paramilitaries. She led protests against the construction of a dam which threatened the livelihood of her people and spoke out against the right-wing dictatorship installed the United States. Since the 2009 US-backed coup in Honduras, the regime has carried out the murder and repression of Indigenous land defenders, social leaders, and members of the LGBTQ community.
Berta’s example has inspired people all over the world take up the struggle for justice and liberation in Honduras. Her daughter has taken up the struggle; in 2017, she was elected General Secretary of COPINH, the indigenous Lenca organization co-founded and led by Berta Cáceres.