A recent massacre in the Bajo Aguán valley, Honduras, saw 20 people killed on a palm oil farm on 21 May. This incident occurred in a region long marked by conflict between small-scale farmers, large palm oil corporations, and drug-trafficking groups.
The new right-wing government of President Nasry “Tito” Asfura, reportedly backed by Donald Trump, has since passed new legislation. This includes a reform to the penal code allowing criminal groups to be designated as terrorist organisations, a move criticised for its broad definition of terrorism.
Lucía Vigil from the Centre for the Study of Democracy (Cespad) stated that under this law, “any group exercising their democratic right to peaceful protest can be labelled terrorist.” Yoni Rivas, spokesperson for the Plataforma Agraria, expressed concern that the law makes danger come “directly from the state.”
Additionally, the government approved a law prioritising agribusinesses in land rights cases over claims made by campesino, Indigenous, or other activist groups. Lucas Mantelli, a lawyer at the pan-American Centre for Justice and International Law, views these two laws as interlinked, forming part of a strategy to benefit agribusiness.
The Bajo Aguán valley has been a site of a 30-year land conflict, with estimates by the Honduran Commission for Human Rights (Conadeh) indicating over 200 lives lost, predominantly campesinos. Conflict monitor Acled reported that May was the deadliest month in the region since data collection began in 2018.