Berta Cáceres

Honduran environmental activist assassinated for opposing a hydroelectric dam threatening indigenous lands

Berta Cáceres (1971–2016), a Lenca indigenous leader from Honduras, became a global symbol of environmental justice after her murder for resisting the Agua Zarca dam project. Co-founding the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) in 1993, she campaigned against illegal logging, mining, and hydroelectric projects violating indigenous rights.

Her landmark struggle was the decade-long battle against the Agua Zarca dam on the Gualcarque River, sacred to the Lenca people. In 2013, she organized blockades and international petitions, leading the Chinese company Sinohydro and the World Bank to withdraw. Despite death threats, Cáceres won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2015. Tragically, she was assassinated in 2016 by hitmen linked to the dam’s developers.

Her death sparked global outrage, with the Guardian calling it a wake-up call for environmental defenders. Seven suspects, including corporate executives, were convicted in 2021. Today, her daughters continue COPINH’s work. Learn more via the BBC.