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Honduran anti-mining activist who combated to save rivers is eliminated

An environmental activist who opposed mining and hydroelectric projects in northern Honduras in an effort to preserve tropical forests and rivers has actually been eliminated, cops said on Sunday.

Juan Lopez was shot dead on Saturday night by a number of men as he headed home in his cars and truck from church, a main informed Reuters, speaking on condition of privacy.

Lopez came from the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Typical and Public Product, an environmental organization in the city of Tocoa on the nation's Atlantic coast.

3 other members of the group were killed in 2015 in what the company viewed as retaliation, in a country that is one of the world's most unsafe for activists.

The group had suffered dangers and harassment for years amidst efforts to protect the Guapinol and San Pedro rivers, and the Carlos Escaleras nature reserve, amid the growing presence of mining and hydro-electric companies.

We require clear and definitive responses, this government need to respond to for the killing of our colleague Juan Lopez, the group stated in a post on social networks.

Last October, the Inter-American Commission on Person Rights given preventive steps in favor of 30 members of the group and their legal agents, including Lopez. It prompted the Honduras federal government to reinforce its protection systems.

According to the commission, Lopez reported many threats, consisting of from a gang member, a regional business owner, and a mining business representative. Given that June, 2 men on bikes started appearing around his home, the commission stated.

The United Nations resident planner in Honduras, Alice Shackelford, said Lopez had been threatened for his activism, and she praised his efforts to stand up to powerful interests.

We condemn the dreadful murder of Juan Lopez, a human rights defender threatened for his work, she said in a post on social networks.

Latin America accounted for 85% of the world's. ecologists who were eliminated in 2015, according to UK. advocacy group International Witness, with 18 deaths registered in. Honduras.

(source: Reuters)