Assassination of Berta Cáceres sparks outrage
The Public Service Alliance of Canada, along with 80 other Canadian organizations and institutions condemn the assassination of Berta Cáceres, general coordinator and co-founder of the National Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras. Berta was assassinated on March 3 in La Esperanza, Intibuca after several individuals broke into the house where she was staying and shot and killed her. We call on the government of Canada to condemn the murder, and to call on the Honduran government to support an independent, international investigation into the murder.
We are also very concerned for the safety of Gustavo Castro Soto, a Mexican colleague of Ms. Cáceres, who witnessed and survived her assassination, and who is now being held in Honduras. Mr. Castro has fully participated in all aspects of the investigation into Ms. Cáceres’ assassination but is being detained in Honduras. After assuring Mr. Soto verbally that he could leave Honduras after giving additional testimony, the Honduran Attorney General has now issued a 30 day migratory alert requiring Mr. Soto to remain in the country, in spite of already having participated fully in the investigation.
Please take a moment to sign on to two letters CoDev Canada has prepared.
The first letter calls on the Canadian Government to: urge the Honduran government to revoke the migratory alert that keeps Gustavo in Honduras and guarantee his safe and prompt return to Mexico; urge the Mexican government to maintain and strengthen measures for Gustavo’s physical and psychological well being in Honduras and safe return to Mexico; urge for an independent investigation with international participation, given the weakness of the Honduran justice system to ensure a full and impartial investigation of Berta Cáceres’ assassination.
The second letter calls on Honduran authorities to lift the migratory alert and allow Mr. Castro to leave Honduras, and calls on the Mexican authorities to take greater actions to pressure the Government of Honduras to allow Mr. Castro to leave Honduras.