Central America
Honduran hydroelectric executive jailed for environmentalist murder
AFP
A senior executive of a hydroelectric dam in Honduras was handed a prison sentence of more than 22 years on Monday for his role in the 2016 murder of renowned environmentalist Berta Caceres.
A judge last July had ruled that Roberto David Castillo, a former member of the armed forces who graduated from the West Point military academy in New York, was the “co-perpetrator of the crime of murder.”
The victim, Berta Caceres, was a fervent opponent of Desarrollos Energeticos S.A. (DESA), which had developed a project in Indigenous territories in Honduras.
Castillo was the executive president of DESA, and evidence presented against him — including phone recordings — showed that he “participated directly” in the crime, according to a statement from the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) announcing his sentence of 22 years and 6 months in prison.
Castillo’s defense has 20 days to appeal the ruling.
During the trial, the court heard that Caceres was killed due to her opposition to DESA’s building of a hydroelectric plant on the Gualcarque river.
She was the coordinator of the COPINH group of Indigenous organizations and in 2015 won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize.
Less than a year later, on March 2, 2016, she was shot and killed by men who entered her home in the western village of La Esperanza.
In 2018, two DESA officials and a former military officer were sentenced to 30 years in prison as “co-perpetrators” to Caceres’s murder.
The four hitmen each received 50 years.
Caceres’s family and the COPINH leadership want more people punished, though, including the partners in DESA, made up of influential banking families.
“This is not easy but we are continuing the fight, collecting evidence to be able to bring them to trial because they are already people of economic and political power,” Roberto Caceres, the brother of the murdered environmentalist, told AFP.
Central America
El Salvador extends condolences to Turkey following deadly hotel fire
The Government of El Salvador extends its condolences and expresses solidarity with the Government of Turkey following the death of at least 76 people and more than 50 injuries in the fire at the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu Province on January 21.
“El Salvador offers its hopes for the swift recovery of those affected and expresses its deepest sympathy to the families of the deceased due to this tragic event,” said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Our country reaffirms the strong bonds of friendship shared with the Republic of Turkey, especially during this time of profound sorrow.”
The Turkish government began burying the victims on Wednesday, amid accusations of negligence.
Central America
ANDA to replace 49 km of pipelines in San Salvador by 2025
The president of the National Administration of Aqueducts and Sewers (ANDA), Jorge Castaneda, announced that the complete replacement of pipelines in San Salvador will continue in 2025 as part of efforts to reduce water leaks and modernize the distribution system.
Castaneda explained that in the northern area of the San Salvador Metropolitan Area (AMSS), which supplies 30% of its users, approximately 24 kilometers of pipelines will be replaced. Meanwhile, an additional 25 kilometers will be renewed in the eastern zone of the AMSS. These interventions are part of a strategic plan to minimize unaccounted-for water losses caused by decades of neglect and lack of maintenance of the infrastructure.
“We will continue repairing leaks, but it’s essential to go further and implement complete infrastructure replacements. This is a long-term investment project,” said Castaneda.
The official also highlighted that in the first months of 2025, over 27,000 leak repairs have been carried out, while more than 3,000 interventions have already been registered this year.
Among the projects underway, Castaneda mentioned the pipeline replacement in the Los Héroes neighborhood near Cuscatlán Stadium, where 3 kilometers of pipelines are being renewed, directly benefiting 2,500 people.
Central America
Venezuelan opposition leader to meet Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves on thursday
Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia will meet with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves this Thursday, the Presidential Office of Costa Rica announced today.
“We will give a warm welcome to the person who won the July elections in Venezuela, and we continue to denounce electoral fraud,” President Chaves stated during his weekly press conference.
Meanwhile, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André explained that González Urrutia is visiting Costa Rica to “inform the president and provide details about the situation in Venezuela, the victory he achieved with over 7 million votes on July 28, and the electoral fraud committed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, which fraudulently swore him in as president.”
González Urrutia is currently in Guatemala, having arrived from the Dominican Republic as part of a tour through several countries ahead of the controversial inauguration on January 10, during which the Chavista leader Nicolás Maduro was sworn in as president by the National Assembly, controlled by the ruling party.
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