Honduras: Garifuna Communities Under Attack
The situation in Honduras is getting heavier by the day, with escalating threats against the lives, land, and territories of the country’s peasant, Indigenous, and Afro-Indigenous communities by right-wing forces.
In July, five members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) were arrested during a violent eviction in the Garifuna community of San Juan, in the municipality of Tela, on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. While the individuals were released, they are facing criminal charges for “aggravated usurpation” of their own territory. This criminalization is occurring in a context of rising violence against Garifuna communities.
In response, members of OFRANEH and allies are mobilizing. At this very moment, they are camped out outside the Supreme Court of Honduras in Tegucigalpa demanding justice. And they are calling for international solidarity. Please join us in taking this quick action to add our voices to theirs.
Note: If you are also authorized to sign for an organization, include the name of your organization and check “Add my organization to the sign-on letter.” (Read the sign-on letter)
English translation of action letter
Honorable Judge,
I send you this letter after having received particularly troubling information regarding the criminalization and unlawful judicial persecution of five members of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH): Deinor Osmany Mejía Arzu, Irbin Rene López Cortes, Carlos Enrique Fernández Guzmán, Onil Rigoberto Hernández Zelaya and Sara Abigail Acosta.
These five individuals were arrested when police officers arrived in the community of San Juan to undertake a violent and unlawful eviction. The individuals were subsequently released; however, they continue to face charges of “aggravated usurpation” of their own territory. This criminalization is occurring in a context of escalating violence against Garifuna communities, and it has coincided with the enactment of the “Law to Strengthen and Protect the Agro-Industrial Sector, Energy Projects, Tourism, Livestock, and Small Agricultural Producers.” The provisions of this law threaten the survival of communities and peoples, especially defenders of land and territory.
The prosecution against these five human rights defenders and members of OFRANEH is plainly illegal and arbitrary.
Firstly, it violates the territorial ancestral rights of the Garifuna people, which are internationally recognized. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has issued four rulings in which it condemns the Honduran State and recognizes and protects the territorial ancestral rights of Garifuna communities: Case of the Garifuna Community of Triunfo de la Cruz and its Members vs. Honduras (2015); Case of the Punta Piedra Garifuna Community and its Members vs. Honduras (2015); Case of the Garifuna Community of San Juan and its Members vs. Honduras (2023); and Case of the Cayos Cochinos Garifuna Community V. Honduras (2026).
In its rulings, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights orders, among other measures, the restitution of lands; and it recognizes collective property. It also acknowledges the serious impacts caused by violations against the Garifuna people’s rights, especially taking into account their close relationship with their lands and natural resources and the intangible elements that stem from them.
Therefore, I express my deep concern about the racial hate campaign that has been growing against the Garifuna people since the start of this unlawful judicial persecution against five of its members. What particularly concerns us are the numerous statements and publications with racist undertones that have falsely claimed that there is a controversy about land ownership in San Juan – when the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’s ruling unequivocally established that the land is collectively owned by the Garifuna communities.
The work of OFRANEH with organized Garifuna communities is legitimate, inspiring, and widely recognized nationally and internationally. They have tirelessly carried out ongoing actions to care for the environment and create dignified living conditions for their residents – in a context of institutional neglect, inequality, poverty, and racism.
Based on the foregoing, Honorable Judge, I respectfully request that you take all necessary actions to:
- Guarantee the immediate and definitive cessation of the illegal judicial persecution of the five human rights defenders: Deinor Osmany Mejía Arzu, Irbin Rene López Cortes, Carlos Enrique Fernández Guzmán, Onil Rigoberto Hernández Zelaya and Sara Abigail Acosta.
- Guarantee the full and proper compliance with the four rulings issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in favor of the Garifuna People.
- Prevent any further criminalization or prosecution of the Garifuna People.
- Guarantee an end to the racial hate campaign that has been growing against the Garifuna People, which threatens their physical safety and legitimate work.
I, along with others, will remain especially vigilant regarding this situation.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
