Honduras Arrests Former Mayor Over 2024 Killing of Environmental Activist

Honduran authorities arrested three people this week, including a former mayor, on suspicion of involvement in the 2024 assassination of environmental activist Juan Lopez. Adan Funez, who served as mayor of Tocoa, was taken into custody at his home on Tuesday.

Prosecutors accused him and two others of masterminding the killing. The other two men arrested were businessman Hector Eduardo Méndez and Juan Angel Ramos Gallegos. Lopez had led community opposition to an iron oxide mining project in the rural Colon region of northwestern Honduras.

Activists said the project threatened dense jungles and protected reserve areas. He was one of the strongest critics of the former mayor, who supported the mine. In September 2024, Lopez called for the mayor to resign amid a corruption scandal. Days later, he was shot six times in the chest and once in the head by a masked gunman.

The case recalled the 2016 murder of environmentalist Berta Caceres, which also prompted international attention. Accusations against the former mayor had circulated for months among local environmental and religious leaders.

A spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s

Office said the three men are believed to be the intellectual authors of Lopez’s death. The spokesperson identified the official as Yuri Mora in comments to The Associated Press. The detentions follow earlier arrests in the case. Officials had long identified the former mayor as a key suspect. The trial of the three men is scheduled to begin in June 2027.

Protecting the environment remains a dangerous activity in Honduras. The country is part of Latin America, the deadliest region globally for land and environmental defenders. An nongovernmental organisation reported 117 such killings in Latin America in 2024.

Eight local activists spent more than two years in prison in what their lawyers described as retaliation for their work. A close associate of Lopez stated that the former mayor’s arrest came as a surprise after years of impunity. The associate added that authorities must pursue others linked to the killing and the mining project.

“We’ve been calling for justice for so long,” the associate said.