Former Honduras Mayor Arrested for Allegedly Plotting Environmental Activist's Murder

On March 26, Honduran authorities arrested three people, including a powerful politician, accused of plotting the 2024 assassination of an environmental leader — a case that has become a symbol of government corruption.

Adan Funez, the former mayor of Tocoa, was arrested at his home on Tuesday on charges of masterminding the murder, following years of criticism from religious and environmental leaders over the case.

Juan Lopez was an anti-corruption activist who led community efforts against an iron ore mining project in Colon, a rural area in northwestern Honduras. Activists argued the project threatened dense forests and pristine streams, including protected areas.

Lopez was one of the fiercest critics of Funez, then the local mayor and a supporter of the mine, as well as a close ally of former Honduran President Xiomara Castro, whose term ended in 2024.

In September 2024, Lopez called for Funez to resign over a corruption scandal. Days later, the environmental and human rights activist was shot six times in the chest and once in the head by a masked gunman. The killing prompted demands for justice from Pope Francis, the United Nations, and the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Charges also target Funez, a figure with influence in the region’s decades-long agricultural conflict. Lopez's death evoked painful memories of the 2016 murder of Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres, which sparked global outrage.

Funez was arrested alongside two others on Tuesday: businessman Hector Eduardo Méndez and Juan Angel Ramos Gallegos. The Prosecutor's Office accused all three of criminal association harming fundamental rights.

Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Yuri Mora told AP: “These three individuals are believed to be the masterminds behind the death of environmental activist Juan Lopez.”

The arrests follow several others made months earlier, but Funez had long been identified by local environmental and religious leaders as the plot's mastermind. Their trial is expected to begin next June.

Environmental defense is a dangerous profession in Honduras. People like Lopez often serve as unwanted “eyes and ears” in resource-rich areas of Latin America — the world's most dangerous region for environmental activists, according to NGO Global Witness.

Global Witness recorded 117 murders of environmental and land activists in Latin America in 2024 alone, accounting for 82% of the global total. In Lopez's Tocoa, environmental activists opposing the mining project have been targeted for years. Eight activists have been imprisoned for over two years, which lawyers say is retaliation for their work.

Dalila Santiago, a close friend of Lopez and a leader in his movement, said that after widespread impunity in Honduras, Funez's arrest on Tuesday came as a surprise. She added that Honduran authorities must continue pursuing other responsible parties and the business leaders behind the mining project.

“We have been calling for justice for too long,” Santiago said. “And we need the masterminds behind this case to be arrested and punished.”