Since December 2009, at least 44
Honduran campesinos have been killed for taking part in
demonstrations demanding the return of lands stolen from them and
those previously promised to them by the Honduran state.
The victims are leaders of the Unified
Movement of Aguán’s
Farmworkers (MUCA) and members of communities like Guadalupe Carney,
Rigores and Prieta encompassing thousands of campesino families that
settled the Aguán Valley under a government-sponsored program in the
1970s. Campesinos in Guadalupe Carney, Rigores, Prieta and other
communities have seen land they owned stolen from them as right-wing
governments have chipped away at campesino cooperatives and placed
the land in the hands of wealthy businessman.
According to the human rights
organization Committee of the Families of the Detained and
Disappeared of Honduras, no one has been arrested or prosecuted for
the crimes. This is not because of a lack of evidence nor an
inability to identify those responsible.
The security forces linked to the
deaths are connected to the Honduran military and police and hired by
Miguel Facussé, “the wealthiest, most powerful businessman in the
country.” (The Nation, Oct. 21)
Miguel Facussé: drug trafficker in
collusion with U.S. imperialism
Facussé is the beneficiary of the
theft and denial of lands to the farmworkers. He owns 22,000 acres in
the Aguán Valley handed over as part of a series of
government-sponsored transfers of land to wealthy elites starting in
1992. His corporation Dinant is a major producer of palm oil, snack
foods and other agricultural products. One-fifth of the 22,000 acres
is now planted with African palms, as part of an expanding biofuel
empire.
Facussé is also a drug trafficker.
Honduras, and the U.S. State Department, have been fully aware of
this fact since 2004. (The Nation, Oct. 21)
Facussé has admitted that on Nov.15,
2010, his guards killed five campesinos from MUCA in the El Tumbador
community. On Oct.11, at La Aurora, Facussé’s security guards
along with Honduran police and military killed one farmworker and
shot at 15 other workers. On Jan.8, journalist and activist Juan
Chinchilla was kidnapped and tortured. After his escape, he noted
that the captors all wore private guard, military and police
uniforms. These are only a few of the attacks carried out on the
farmworkers of the Aguán
Valley.
Facussé is colluding with the
U.S.-backed Honduran police and military forces to intimidate and
assassinate the rightful owners of the land he is exploiting for the
profits of himself and a few others in the Honduran ruling class.
The Honduran government has, in fact,
carried out a wave of repression against not only organized
campesinos but also journalists, unionists, human rights activists
and others.
The Aguán
Valley has been a particular area of focus for the repressive forces.
Guadalupe Carney was invaded almost a year ago, and troops have
remained camped there since. In April 2010, thousands of police and
military occupied the entire lower area of the valley.
2009 coup in Honduras had support of
U.S. government
In 2009, the legitimate Honduran
government of Manuel Zelaya was overthrown in a coup. Zelaya, elected
in 2005, had embarked on a popular campaign for wage reform and other
progressive changes as well as shutting down a U.S. base. His
presidency and popular support threatened multinational companies and
the interests of U.S. imperialism in a region that has seen a
consistent shift toward popular resistance.
At first the coup was given tacit
support and then strong financial backing from the U.S. government.
Washington, however, had knowledge of the coup before it happened and
strong connections to the coup plotters. The lead general, Romeo
Vasquez, was trained by the U.S. government in Georgia. In 2009, the
National Endowment for Democracy gave $1.2 million to John McCain’s
International Republican Institute for its work in Honduras. That
work included establishing the Democratic Civil Union of Honduras,
which then played a major role in the coup.
The cozy
relationship continues. President Obama greeted his Honduran
counterpart, Porfirio Lobo of Honduras, in Washington last month. As
part of his greeting, he lauded Lobo’s leadership in “a
restoration of democratic practices and a commitment to
reconciliation that gives us great hope.” (Counterpunch, Nov. 21)
In short, the Honduran coup government
that continues in power today has the direct political and financial
support of U.S. imperialism. This coup government is carrying out
wave after wave of repression against the Honduran people as they
resist a wholesale attempt to sell their country’s people and
natural resources off to multinational corporations.
The nefarious history of U.S.-backed
governments in Latin America is rife with instances in which
privately hired guards in collusion with state forces intimidate,
torture and kill workers organizing to defend their land, their
communities or their jobs. Following the 1954 CIA-engineered
coup against Jacobo Arbenz, the U.S.-supported Guatemalan
dictatorship was responsible for the loss of tens of thousands of
lives. Between 1986 and 2002, more than 3,000 labor leaders were
assassinated in Colombia. The
examples continue throughout Latin American, from Haiti to El
Salvador to Venezuela and Chile. (pslweb.org, July 25, 2008)
In the Aguán
Valley, the situation continues to intensify. The farmworkers’
movement has put out an urgent call for support in defending their
communities and their lands from the onslaught. The movement needs
supporters to sign an open letter to the international community. You
can e-mail [email protected]
to add your voice to the letter.
End U.S. support for the repressive
Honduran coup government!
