• Press Release

Honduras: Arrest of DESA executive must be followed by further action against those behind the killing of Berta Cáceres

March 5, 2018

Following the Honduran authorities’ decision to charge Roberto David Castillo, the executive president of Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA), for his involvement in the killing of environmental human rights defender Berta Cáceres, Erika Guevara-Rosas, the director of Amnesty International in the Americas, said:

“The investigation into the alleged role of senior members of DESA, the company building the dam that Berta Cáceres campaigned against, in her brutal murder two years ago, was long overdue. But the buck must not stop here. The authorities must ensure that all those implicated in the killing of Berta Cáceres are brought before justice in fair trials.”

“Last year, a team of international experts presented evidence indicating that other high-ranking state agents and DESA executives may have been involved in ordering Berta’s killing. Honduran authorities must continue the investigations, and if sufficient evidence exists, bring charges against all those involved in the killing, including those who ordered the crime.”