Honduran anti-mining activist who fought to save rivers is killed

An environmental activist who protested mining and hydro-electric projects in northern Honduras in an effort to preserve tropical forests and rivers has been killed, police said on Sunday.

An environmental activist who protested mining and hydro-electric projects in northern Honduras in an effort to preserve tropical forests and rivers has been killed, police said on Sunday. Juan Lopez was shot dead on Saturday night by several men as he headed home in his car from church, an official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Lopez belonged to the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods, an environmental organization in the city of Tocoa on the country’s Atlantic coast. Three other members of the group were killed last year in what the organization saw as retaliation, in a country that is one of the world’s most dangerous for activists. The group had suffered threats and harassment for years amid efforts to preserve the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, and the Carlos Escaleras nature reserve, amid the growing presence of mining and hydro-electric companies. “We demand clear and conclusive answers, this government must answer for the killing of our colleague Juan Lopez,” the group said in a post on social media.