DAY THIRTY-NINE: Trial Against David Castillo
/Last update: June 16 at 7:20 pm
Main Points of the Day
Bertha Zúniga Cáceres, Berta’s daughter and the General Coordinator of COPINH, testified, mentioning her mother’s warnings about how David Castillo was more dangerous than other DESA employees and that prior to the criminalization process against Berta, Castillo had told her mom that DESA would start a legal process against her but not until after Berta returned from Cuba to see her daughter graduate. Zúniga Cáceres testified that the communities of Rio Blanco were not consulted about the Agua Zarca dam. She mentioned how at the end of 2015, her mom began speaking about putting together a will and getting life insurance.
Bertha Zúniga’s testimony concluded the evidence presented by the Cáceres family legal teams (acusadores privados).
Castillo’s defense team called their first witness, Ramon Rosa Rivera Perdomo, a teacher from San Francisco de Ojüera (the location of the dam’s construction when it moved to the other side of the Gualcarque river). Rivera Perdomo is a former DESA employee and since January 2015, part of the DESA-initiated Council for Management and Development of the communities of Northern Intibuca and southern Santa Barbara. Rivera Perdomo’s described the consultation process carried out in the communities around the project and made clear his support for “renewable energy” and DESA’s presence and contributions to development in his municipality. So far, it’s unclear how this witness relates to Castillo and the defense’s strategy, other than trying to show the alleged benefits of and conflicting opinions about the Agua Zarca dam’s construction.
The trial is convened for 9:30 am tomorrow.
More Details
Bertha Zúniga Cáceres, Berta Cáceres’s Daughter and General Coordinator of COPINH, Testifies
[NOTE: There was poor audio quality today and it was hard at times to hear the responses from the witnesses called to testify]
Declaration:
I’m the Coordinator of COPINH and the daughter of Berta Cáceres. My mom was a luchadora social (an activist) during her life. She dedicated her life to defending the rights of Lenca communities.
In July 2013, at the beginning of the month, I was in university in Cuba. My mom traveled to visit me. She told me that the Lenca communities were in a struggle against a hydroelectric project. The project was called Agua Zarca and it was on Lenca territory and that the people were determined to stop it.
When she was criminalized, I asked her what happened and she told me that on her way to the community, she was detained by militaries that were stationed in DESA’s installations and that they accused her of having a gun.
She told me that DESA was the owner of the dam and the President’s name was David Castillo - that he was a military officer who had studied at West Point. She said that the construction company building the dam was Sinohydro, a Chinese company and that it was one of the largest in the world.
She told me with a lot of fear and worry that Castillo told her that the company was going to begin a legal process against her but not until she got back from Cuba and her daughter’s graduation. Few people knew that I was in Cuba and that I was going to graduate. How could he have that information? She told me that the struggle was very complex and she worried about people in the community that were protesting and blocking the road. We were only together for a few days because she had to come back to Honduras. Right when she got back, Tomas García was killed by the Honduran military in DESA’s installations.
I accompanied my mom when she was accused of usurpation (illegal possession of land) in Lenca territory, coercion, and damages to the company for 700 million Lempiras. I accompanied her in La Esperanza for the hearings. I was able to go into the hearings because I was her daughter. Sanchez [the same lawyer representing Castillo] was representing DESA and Sergio Rodriguez and Douglas Bustillo were there.
I have talked to a lot of people that traveled to Rio Blanco. In the beginning, my mom told me that I could not go there. I refused and asked her why since she always encouraged me to get involved in communities. She told me that it was because I didn’t have an idea of the dimension of the danger and harassment and that my presence in Rio Blanco would further expose her to danger. I continued to insist and after a while, she said ok, she would let me go but that I would have to enter the community from Santa Barbara [hard to hear, not sure if this is correct] and San Pedrito where there was compañero from COPINH who would take me with other people. They were going to accompany me from the time I entered and left the area and I was told to introduce myself using a fake name. I went to give trainings about women’s rights and that was my first time going to the community of Rio Blanco.
When I arrived to Honduras, my mom was taking extreme security measures even though in the history of COPINH, she had always defended the rights of communities. COPINH was involved in the struggle against the El Tigre dam and against logging in Intibucá. They also did land reclamation struggles in areas in Lempira and also, struggled against the coup d’état.
2013 was a very complex year. My mom had to travel to various places. By the end of 2013, there was a lot of tension because of the defense of the Gualcarque river. Because of Tomas García’s death, Sinohydro had left and in August 2013, the company continued to insist that they were going to build the dam.
In April 2014, I started to work with the Network of Women Human Rights Defenders. Part of my work was to document and outline the threats against my mom. This information was used to write reports about threats against women human rights defenders.
At one point in 2013, my mom with COPINH coordinators had a meeting with DESA representatives in Utopia [COPINH’s training center in La Esperanza]. I don’t remember the names of the people that were there but I know that David Castillo was. In this meeting, they didn’t arrive to an agreement because their presence in the community violated free, prior and informed consent.
David Castillo offered to pay for projects in Utopía and for the Wellness center - COPINH’s center for women. My mom told me that she understood his offers as a way of bribing her. She also didn’t know how Castillo knew that it was a really important project for her.
In 2013, in Rio Blanco, while COPINH was doing community assemblies, employees of the company wanted to attack her. They were drunk. Also people linked to the company in the communities shot at her vehicle. They also damaged her vehicle’s tires.
My mom also told me another time when Castillo talked to her about her being in a meeting and he said that he liked the skirt she was wearing. It was a meeting with social movement leaders. She understood this to mean that he was monitoring her closely.
She also told me that in January 2015, a man named Alexis was sending her text messages. He told her that DESA engineers had people they were paying inside the COPINH assemblies and meetings. The people gave DESA information about when she and other people were coordinating actions. To confirm whether he was a trustworthy source, she called him once. He didn’t want to answer in the beginning, but she kept calling because she wanted to know if it was a trap or the truth.
In 2014, with the tension in the community, she told me when we passed through Agua Caliente and another area to keep the windows of the vehicle up. In El Barreal where a Madrid family lived, there was always a police check point. We were always detained there - they asked us for our papers, searched the cars, and asked us what our relationship with Berta Cáceres was. That was always the case, and they would always let me pass because I would never say anything about my relationship with my mom.
In April 2015, I went to the US to accompany my grandmother and my mom when she received the prestigious Goldman Prize that they give to environmentalists. She was given the award for her struggle in defending the Gualcarque river. Being there in the US, my mom told me that Castillo had called her to congratulate her for receiving the prize. They were adversaries and he knew they were giving her a prize for struggling against the company that he represented.
In August 2015, the rumors continued that DESA was constructing the dam from the other side of the river. My mom was preparing her house for my sister Laura and brother, Salvador’s visit. They were coming from Argentina. One afternoon, she commented that Castillo was a liar because he had said that she had won and that he would stop the project because Lenca people are very rebellious. My mom was really disappointed because she thought that he’d actually do it. She said that he had lied and also that Douglas Bustillo insulted her. She told me that Bustillo was an hitman and that members of his family were also hitman and were involved in the kidnapping of a President’s son in Honduras. But she told me that she was more scared of David Castillo because he spoke to her kindly.
In October, my mom commented to me that COPINH people were organizing more protest actions against the hydroelectric project on the other side of the river. They were worried about the reactions of the company.
In December 2015, my sister Laura and brother Salvador were in Honduras and my mom told us one afternoon that she wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were all together to write a will. I told her “no”, that we didn’t want to talk about that and she responded that because of the struggle in defense of the Gualcarque river, that anything could happen. But I said no - that she would live for many years.
When Laura was in Honduras, she went with my mom to get a bank card. My mom also went to the bank with her to get life insurance and she told me that if anything happened, she didn’t want us to be left without support.
On December 31, we were preparing for New Years celebrations and I was with her buying food for the evening. We still hadn’t prepared anything and in the central park of La Esperanza, we saw two vehicles that my mom said belonged to DESA. She called people in Rio Blanco to see if they knew why DESA people were in La Esperanza.
In January, I went to visit my father and he told me that a lawyer had come to visit. She didn’t want to leave her name but said that two men had been detained for illegal possession of weapons and for killing a man in Rio Blanco. At the moment of his arrest, one of the men said he worked with DESA to screw over the COPINHes. He was free by the end of the year after paying a bribe to a judge in La Esperanza. I was told that this information was important to tell my mom so that she knew what to do with it. Later, I asked her what she was going to do. She said she didn’t know but she said that they were probably contracted to kill her. She told me that the hitman was freed because of DESA. I was worried that they would do something against her.
In early February, there were some incidents in El Líbano [the neighbourhood where Berta lived and was later murdered]. My mom came home to find the door of the house open and the security guard said that two men were hanging around the neighbourhood. The guard had fired shots in the air as a warning to the men.
My mom denounced the international banks financing the Agua Zarca dam - the FMO, Finnfund, and the CABEI and she mentioned that Ficohsa was linked to DESA.
When I was getting ready to go to Mexico to do my Masters which I was able to do because I won a scholarship, she said goodbye to me. She said that if something happened to her, that it was because of DESA and David Castillo. She said we shouldn’t be scared because in this country, anything can happen. I left pretty scared. I thought she’d be criminalized again. After I left, I was in permanent communication with her.
In February, she told me that with COPINH people, they were going to do strong protest actions in San Francisco de Ojüera. The police wouldn’t let them pass. I was writing her all day. She said that the police wouldn’t let them pass on the buses so they started walking. She wrote me in the evening and confirmed that she had left the area and that everything was ok - that she was with various people and with Sotero [COPINH member and part of the COPINH coordination]
The last time I spoke with her was on March 2, 2016. She told me that they were doing a forum about alternative energy and she was happy because it was in Utopia [COPINH’s training center] and there were 150 people participating. She told me that Gustavo Castro, a marvelous person, had arrived to participate.
QUESTIONS FROM THE PRIVATE ACCUSERS REPRESENTING THE CÁCERES FAMILY
Q: You mentioned that you form part of COPINH, what is COPINH? A: COPINH is a community-based organization that struggles for the rights of indigenous peoples and communities.
Q: Since when has COPINH been involved in these activities? A: Since it’s foundation in 1993.
Q: When did COPINH and your mother arrive to Rio Blanco? A: The first time COPINH went to Rio Blanco was in 2010.
Q: More soon
The Defense Begins To Present Their Evidence: Witness Ramon Rivera Perdomo Begins to Testify
Ramon Rivera Perdomo is a school teacher from San Francisco de Ojüera (SFO) in the department of Santa Barbara [SFO was the location where DESA moved the Agua Zarca dam construction to after it was expelled from Rio Blanco].
Declaration:
Before I knew anything about renewable energy, I had already met COPINH. I graduated from a school in Santa Barbara and was trained by [Salvador] Zúniga in the Santa Barbara Institute. I got a scholarship to study medicine in Cuba, went there for two years, and then returned to my community. In the early 2000s, I became an activist in favor of renewable energy.
I became part of the elected community leadership (patronato) and was in favor of the development of a hydroelectric project. This was not possible until around 2007 when we received some funds from a government program - Poverty Reduction Strategy - from the government of Manuel Zelaya. By 2009, we had electrical projects in communities in the municipality and it was a huge achievement for the community leadership. I was an activist in the Zelaya government and was a town council member.
When the Zelaya government proposed the Llanitos and Jicatuyo hydroelectric dam projects [these dams were never built but the JOH government is now pushing them forward again], I was in favor of these projects. I believed in the possibilities for the development of SFO and we always saw the possibilities of sustainable sources of work and welcomed opportunities for the community.
Then the coup happened, I was an activist against the coup. That’s how I met Berta Cáceres. In 2010, I continued my work in the community. I’m a teacher and have been since 2005. I’m a father - I have three children.
I became aware that they were developing the Agua Zarca dam project on the right side of the Gualcarque river [the right side is the Rio Blanco, Intibuca side].
In 2004, I was part of the Committee to Protect the Gualcarque River Shed. This was an initiative to seek solutions and protections because of the threats to the river like livestock. That’s when I met the indigenous communities and other communities in San Francisco de Opalaca. In this same period, we consider our organizations and the other in San Francisco de Opalaca as brother organizations.
I met COPINH and knew of them as an environmental organization. At this moment, COPINH was still not active in the region.
In 2013, I found out about the crisis in Rio Blanco and that the Agua Zarca project had been stopped. I heard about it through the media. I understood that it was a small project even though people referred to it as a big dam that would take land away from a lot of people.
At the end of 2013, we went to the community of La Tejera in Rio Blanco. It was a sector of the Rio Blanco community that was against the Agua Zarca project.
That’s when I met Francisco Javier [involved with COPINH and leader in Rio Blanco]. I went to his house, his wife was very friendly. We had dinner with them and slept there.
Then the consultation process began in SFO on the left side of the river. They consulted the communities about moving the project to SFO.
In 2013, consultations were done in the communities of Valle de Angeles, El Barreal, La Tejera [all in Rio Blanco] and also in San Ramon, La Leona and other communities in SFO. This was a process to get consent from the communities. We were able to understand what the Agua Zarca project would give to us.
All was going well and was peaceful. Sinohydro was in DESA’s installations and the project was moving forward. I was a teacher in my community and we saw from the other side of the river that they were building the dam
After that, the project went through a crisis and this caused losses fro the company and for the communities, including COPINH.
I learned about ILO169 during the consultations in SFO. I learned that communities have the right to information presented without being manipulated by third parties.
We, the leaders from SFO, went to La Tejera to talk to the people involved in COPINH. We waited for Berta but she arrived late. She was accompanied by a journalist from CNN. We chatted there and we wanted to know why they were against development. We told them we wanted work.
We signed an agreement with the company that talked about building roads, providing projectors and screens for the school, and a health center. I met Sergio Rodriguez and Engineer Francisco in this process.
People in communities are interested in development and we have the right to it.
I met David Castillo one day when he was walking from the community La Estancia - he was sweating and had a backpack on. On January 5, 2015, I started working with DESA. I was part of the social team for community relations. Sergio Rodriguez, Claudio Erazo and myself were part of the team as well as a civil engineer. He was in charge of paying the salaries. There was a construction compay present in SFO and had an office there. It was under the director of the project manager, Jose Manuel Paiz, who I believe is Spanish.
Our work with the social team was to have good relationships with the communities. There was a permanent consultation process - free, prior, and informed - and I learned that every time I went to the community, I learned how to relate and talk to people. We wanted international funders to support the project in our municipality even despite COPINH’s opposition. We had the majority of the population in SFO on our side and COPINH had a reduced number of people that opposed the project from the community of La Tejera.
In the 15 months we were working, I can remember four events that Berta attended. One time, she arrived to SFO and she went with people to the project site. On February 20, 2016, there was another large protest and people from the communities came in front all over and went to where the project was being built.
The project was doing well until Berta’s murder. We would ask her to let us work.
SOME QUESTIONS BY THE DEFENSE
Q: In 2016, how many communities were in the project’s area of influence? A: In SFO, it was the communities of Santa Fe, La Estancia, San Ramon, La leona, and El Aguatal. And also Santa Ana, Valle de Angeles, El Barreal and others on the other side of the river.
Q: What communities were part of the Council in Northern Intibuca? A: The project was being developed between the municipalities.
Q: How many people were part of the Council? A: there were 11 communities from Intibuca and SFO
Q: How many people worked at the company? A: About 30 people from Valle de Angeles
Q: What information do you have about the payments of informants by the company? I don’t have any knowledge of that.
Q: How far is La Tejera from the project? A: 7 to 8 kms. There is no access from La Tejera to the construction of the project.
Q: What knowledge do you have about the beliefs of the population in the Lenca community about the river? A: The knowledge I have of the Lenca community is that after the project started, they said that it was sacred. But this was after. They didn’t have this concept before that.
Q: Who brought the concept to the community? A: It came with the arrival of COPINH to Rio Blanco
Q: Why did Bustillo stop working with DESA? A: He had behavioural problems. He was drinking and affecting the relationship with a woman close to the project’s property [unclear?]. He was detained in a police post because he had a car accident as well.
Q: How often did David Castillo go to the project? A: I saw him once in the construction contractor’s office.
Q: How was the relationship between Castillo and his employees? A: It was really good and he had a very good relationship with the community
Q: How was Berta Cáceres’s relationship with the mayors? I only know about her relationship with the mayor of SFO and I think it was a good one.
Q: What knowledge do you have about the relationship between Castillo and Berta Cáceres? A: A really good relationship.
SOME QUESTIONS BY THE PRIVATE ACCUSERS
Q: What knowledge do you have about when the project was approved? A: I only know about this aspect for the right side of the river when they changed to SFO in 2014.
Q: You mentioned ILO169, why were the communities not consulted before the project began? A: Because in Honduras it’s not clear whether the consultation has to happen before the construction or before the approval of the project.
Q: You said that there were consultations in SFO in 2014, what public officials were part of this process? A: Just the company and the communities, and the mayor.
Q: What knowledge do you have about the indigenous community that Berta Cáceres was part of? A: I don’t have any knowledge of that
Q: What knowledge do you have about the indigenous communities that Rio Blanco is part of? A: I just know that the community of Rio Blanco has a title that they obtained from a long time ago. That’s all I know.