Famed Honduran Environmental Activist is Murdered

Berta Caceres
In this Jan. 27, 2015 photo released by The Goldman Environmental Prize, Berta Caceres speaks to people near the Gualcarque river located in the Intibuca department of Honduras. Caceres, the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and residents of the region maintained a two year struggle to halt construction on the Agua Zarca Hydroelectric project. On March 3, 2016, a member of her indigenous council group said at least two assailants broke into her home and shot Caceres to death. She won the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her role in fighting the dam project. Tim Russo / Goldman Environmental Prize via AP
Berta Caceres
In this Jan. 27, 2015 photo released by The Goldman Environmental Prize, Berta Caceres speaks to people near the Gualcarque river located in the Intibuca department of Honduras. Caceres, the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and residents of the region maintained a two year struggle to halt construction on the Agua Zarca Hydroelectric project. On March 3, 2016, a member of her indigenous council group said at least two assailants broke into her home and shot Caceres to death. She won the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for her role in fighting the dam project. Tim Russo / Goldman Environmental Prize via AP

Famed Honduran Environmental Activist is Murdered

WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

The NGO Global Witness issued a 2015 report declaring Honduras as the world’s most dangerous country for environmental activists. Berta Cáceres, a Honduran indigenous environmental activist, was shot to death in her home last week. 

Her murder came less than a week after her life was threatened due to her opposition to a hydroelectric dam project. For her successful campaign to stop the Agua Zarca Dam project, Cáceres won the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize - touted as “the world’s largest award for grassroots environmental activists.” 

We talk with Matt Ginsberg-Jaeckle, an interpreter, community organizer and member of the Chicago-based human rights group, La Voz de Los de Abajo. Ginsberg-Jaeckle worked with Cáceres on human rights and environmental issues for nearly two decades.