Honduras elites blamed for violence against environmental activists

After the murder of at least 123 activists since 2009 military coup, the Global Witness group points to involvement of politicians and business moguls

High-ranking politicians and business tycoons are implicated in a wave of violence against environmental activists in Honduras, according to an investigation by the anti-corruption group Global Witness, which says the country's elites are using criminal methods to terrorize communities with impunity.

At least 123 land and environmental activists have been murdered in Honduras since a military coup d'i(C)tat forced out the populist president Manuel Zelaya; many of the victims have been members of indigenous and rural communities opposing mega-projects on their territories.