Tell the US Embassy in Honduras to Demand an End to State Repression of a Peaceful Encampment

UPDATE ON SITUATION - 8/15:

Contact the U.S. Embassy NOW to demand they contact the Honduran authorities and demand they halt the repression of the encampment and de-escalate the situation, release the pregnant leader of MADJ Albertina López, and allow the peaceful encampment in Pajuiles to remain.

At approximately 11:00 AM EST on Tuesday, August 15th, Honduran police and military arrived in Pajuiles for the fourth time in ten days to evict community members holding camp at the roadblock to prevent the passage of machinery to HIDROCEP's Los Planes hydroelectric dam.

Security forces showed up with a tank and several patrol vehicles, broke up the communities' "Encampment for Dignity, Life and Water," then proceeded to allow the company's machinery to enter.  

Albertina López, leader and spokeswomen with the Movimiento Amplio (MADJ) was arrested and is currently being detained at a local precinct. Concerns surrounding her safety in police custody are heightened given that Albertina is pregnant. We will send updates as we have them. MADJ's Facebook page will also be posting live developments.

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Early the morning of August 10th, the Honduran Military Police, along with members of the COBRAS anti-riot squad and US-funded TIGRES (Intelligence and Special Security Response Force) squad, raided the two roadblock camps in Pajuiles maintained by communities organized under the banner of our partners, the Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y la Justicia (Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice, often known by their Spanish acronym MADJ), who are resisting the construction of a hydroelectric dam, being built with neither the proper consultation of--nor consent by--the affected communities.

Community members were swiftly and forcibly evicted as uniformed agents confiscated materials and equipment from the camps. They were aggressively prevented from taking video or photos as the police ripped up the metal barricades installed by the communities to prevent Hidrocep from bringing its machinery and gasoline to the project site. Following the eviction and destruction of the two camps, the Military Police illegally detained Oscar Martínez and his spouse, Angélica Recinos (later released).

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