Honduras: Peasant Leader Assassinated in Bajo Aguán

The victim was attacked as he was walking from the town of Quebrada de Arena, in the Tocoa municipality in Cólón, where his family resides, to the La Confianza cooperative, of which he is a member.
The corpse was removed by the medical examiner Dr. Martin Henriquez at 9:45 a.m.  Police commissioner Osmín Bardales and state attorney Nolvia Judith Montoya were also present.

Matías Valle Cárdenas, 51 years old and a father of six children (three of whom are minors), initiated and consistently lead MUCA´s struggle. As a MUCA leader, he participated in the peasant organization´s negotiations with the government and the businessman Miguel Facussé.

After an agreement was signed between MUCA and Miguel Facussé with the government as the guarantor, an official statement emphasized that the agrarian conflict between MUCA and the estate owners had been resolved, and the only pending issue was to draft of a financial proposal for the peasants of this organization to pay the businessmen involved in this conflict.

Let us recall that this agreement was signed October 4, 2011 and established a timeline to close this financial deal; the proposal drafted by FICOHSA Bank and the Secretary of Finance (SEFIN) was discussed from January 5th to 12th 2012, at this time the MUCA peasants protested this proposal through a public press release.
MUCA insisted that “the proposal is specifically designed for profit and only favors the consortium of private banks participating in the transaction”.

The financial information and disadvantages for MUCA were also detailed in the press release. They underscored that, according to this proposal, the debt of 636,219,900 lempiras (six hundred thirty-six million, two hundred nineteen thousand, nine hundred lempiras) would become a debt of 1,235,359,288 lempiras (one billion, two hundred million thirty-five, three hundred fifty-nine, two hundred eighty-eight lempiras) to be paid to the private bank within seven years, and if the amount to be paid to BANHPROVE (a State bank) during the remaining eight years is also considered, then the total sum is increased by two hundred million lempiras, an amount which is far from feasible given the palm oil company´s profits.

Some of the peasant leaders consulted regarding this criminal act noted that since they have rejected this proposal, the harassment committed against them has recommenced. On Saturday, January 16, 2012, Florinda Rodrígues was arrested; she is a member of the La Aurora cooperative, which belongs to MUCA. Following her arrest, she was mistreated by armed men who demanded information on the leaders of this organization.

We, the Honduran Section of FIAN International, deeply regret the death of Matías Valle Cárdenas, and we reiterate our request for international solidarity to pressure the Honduran government to do everything within its power to avoid such violent actions in the region, especially those related to the agrarian conflict.

Tegucigalpa MDC, January 20, 2012