Exercising sovereignty over land is a difficult and dangerous in Honduras, and often a last resort for defenseless and endangered communities.
In Guapinol, Tocoa, in the eastern region of Colon, local farmers have taken the law into their own hands, blocking a road and setting up a makeshift community which, amazingly to them, has already lasted since August.
Their reason? They are preventing the operation of an iron mine in the headwaters of the river they depend on to survive.
They seized the strategic access point when they saw that the mine’s activities were seriously affecting the quantity and quality of their water.
They don’t expect their occupation to last — they believe the time will soon come when they will be violently dislodged.
In the meantime, their protest encampment serves to stall the mine long enough to call attention to what they claim are its numerous environmental infractions.
Source: Radio Progresso (advocacy group)