The past few months have been vital in the fight against those violently targeting human rights defenders in Latin America. In Honduras, David Castillo, the president of a hydroelectric dam company and a former Honduran army intelligence officer, was found guilty of being a co-collaborator in ordering the murder of Indigenous environmentalist Berta Cáceres more than five years ago.
But, in Brazil, there were new setbacks in the investigation into the killing of Black Rio de Janeiro councilwoman Marielle Franco. Recent changes in leadership of the case show that it remains stuck, three and a half years after the assassination of Franco and her driver, Anderson Gomes.
Both cases are stark reminders of the threat faced by rights defenders in the region, and of the fragile protection mechanisms available to them. Activists continue to be targeted – a recent Global Witness report said Latin America accounted for three-quarters of the killings of environmental defenders in 2020 – and justice and accountability lag far behind.
