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Alert: Activist Killed in HondurasChiquita Subsidiary Security Guards Kill Activist in Honduras! Send your urgent appeals to authorities in Honduras and the US!April 7, 2004 Information for this alert provided by Rights Action [www.rightsaction.org]. On March 13, 2004, CESAR VIRGILIO PINOT was shot and killed by the private security forces of the Tela Railroad Company in the palm plantation Toloa Empalme, municipality of Tela, department of Atlantida, Honduras. The plantation is owned by Agro Oriental - a palm oil production unit until last year owned by the Tela Railroad Company, which is a subsidiary of the US-based multinational fruit company Chiquita Brands International, Inc - through which one has to pass in order to reach the communities of Kilometro 32, La Tomasa, Villafranca and La Union. Inhabitants of these 4 communities are organized in an Association of Independent Palm Producers, allowing them to obtain better prices for their product and to work and to maintain their independence from the transnational corporation. Virgilio was on his way to the community of Kilometro 32 to participate in a community meeting to address the impacts of mining on the environment and the numerous mining concessions owned by transnational mining companies in the departments of Yoro and Atlantida, as well as across the country. The 'Martires de Guaymas' cooperative has recently been involved in organizing and raising awareness about the dangers of open pit mines using cyanide solution extraction methods on human health and the environment, part of growing opposition movement in different regions of Honduras. CESAR VIRGILIO PINOT never made it to the community meeting. He was attacked by the private elite security forces of the Tela Railroad Company, armed with AK47s (illegal weapons for private individuals, including private security companies). Another Martires de Guaymas member, who heard the shooting and came to see what was going on, JOSE NEPTALY LOPEZ, was shot twice in the leg and subsequently captured. Although the closest police post is Tela, 2 hours away - the time it usually takes for police to transport themselves to the community - police agents arrived at the site only 15 minutes after the attack began. The following day, national police agents - accompanied by members of the same private security force, more accurately known in the region as 'paramilitaries' - entered the house of OSMAN ALEXANDER BLANCO DUARTE, whom they arrested along with WILTON RENE BLANCO DUARTE and ANTONIO BAQUEDANO RAMO, who were also present. All three are independent palm producers from the communities of Kilometro 32 and Villafranca and are also Martires de Guaymas members. The four detainees were originally admitted into police custody, originally
for the homicide of Virgilio, according to national police records.
At the same time, however, the police put out a public communique announcing
that a cattle rancher from the region had died, but that the motives
of the crime were unknown. Also, individuals from the paramilitary force
admitted to killing Virgilio, although they claimed that it was an act
of self-defense, that they had been ambushed. These individuals were
not required to testify; instead, DGIC (Criminal Although there were differing stories about the murder, no case file was opened, nor was an autopsy performed, although both are routine procedures for all homicide cases in the region. In fact, Virgilio's body virtually disappeared for over a week; authorities denied all knowledge of his whereabouts until 10 days later when they admitted to Virgilio's family that the body had been buried in the general cemetery in Tela. Meanwhile, the accusations against the prisoners had changed. They have been charged by public prosecutor JACOBO DE JESUS ERAZO with 'illicit association,' more commonly known as the 'anti-gang law,' reformed last year to give police and judicial authorities almost unbridled power to determine who is guilty of this 'illicit association,' without requiring concrete proof of any other crime. The reformed law clearly violates several constitutional guarantees and is currently being challenged on this basis. A further arrest was made on March 18th, when JOSE MEDARDO REYES MONDOZA was detained for the same charge. The five are accused of belonging to a band of car thieves, armed with AK47s, who rob, assault and terrorize the local population. The local population, however, has shown their complete support for the political prisoners. Community organizations, local authorities and even political party candidates have come forward to attest to their honesty, innocence and leadership. The judge, however, accused the defense - Martires de Guaymas activist and lawyer Marcelino Martinez - of orquestrating the show of community support and ordered the detention of the five prisoners until trial. On the other hand, national and international attention and pressure seems to have made some headway. On March 26th, an arrest warrant was ordered for one of the company security agents involved in the murder, JOSE CAYETANO VARGAS, who was detained. State authorities also announced an 'independent' investigation into the case. Prospects for an objective investigation or the impartial application of justice, however, continue to look rather bleak. Events to date have shown that authorities from different police and judicial institutions have worked to cover up the case instead of investigate it. DEMONSTRATE YOUR SOLIDARITY It is clear that repression and manipulation continues in this case. Please send urgent appeals to Honduran government authorities, as well as to your diplomatic representatives, demanding: - that an exhaustive and impartial investigation be conducted into the death of CESAR VIRGILIO PINOT, and that those found responsible be brought to justice; - that a similar investigation be conducted into the actions of national police agents and criminal investigation (DGIC) agents involved in the case, as well as of public prosecutor JACOBO DE JESUS ERAZO, and that all those found guilty of abuse of authority be removed from their positions; - that JOSE NEPTALY LOPEZ, OSMAN ALEXANDER BLANCO DUARTE, WILTON RENE BLANCO DUARTE, ANTONIO BAQUEDANO RAMOS and JOSE MEDARDO REYES MONDOZA be freed; - that repression cease against Martires de Guaymas members, in particular MARCELINO MARTINEZ ESPINAL, as well as against the communities of Kilometro 32, Villafranca, La Tomasa and La Union. SEND COPIES TO: Martires de Guaymas/COPINH, marcelinomartinezespinal@yahoo.es AND copinhonduras@yahoo.es. fax: (504) 783-0817 HONDURAS AMBASSADOR TO USA, Mario Canahuati, 3007 Tilden Street, NW, Suite 4M, Washington, DC 20008, T: 202-966-7702, F: 202-966-9751, E: embassy@hondurasembassy.org CHIQUITA BRANDS INTERNATIONAL CORP, 250 East Fifth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202, T: 513-784-8000. To send an email to Chiquita Brands, go to <http://www.chiquita.com/> and follow instructions as to how to email them directly. HONDURAS EMBASSY IN CANADA, T: 613-233-8900, F: 613-232-0193, E: embhonca@magma.ca HONDURAN MISSION TO UNITED NATIONS: 866 UN Plaza Suite 417 New York, NY 10017, T: 212-752-3370, e: m.suazo@worldnet.att.net CANADIAN AMBASSADOR FOR HONDURAS, Louise Leger, 3d Floor, Bulevar San
Juan Bosco, Colonia Payaqui,Tegucigalpa,Honduras, t: (011 504) 232 4551, USA AMBASSADOR TO HONDURAS, Larry Palmer, 011 [504] 236-9320 / 238-5114, Fax. (504) 236-9037 Vilma Cecilia Morales, Honduran Supreme Court President, f: 011 [504] 233-6784 (or 7921) Ricardo Maduro, President of Honduras, f: 011 [504] 221-4552 Dr. Oscar Alvarez, Minister of Security, f: 011 [504] 220-4352 |
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