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Dear Friend,

On June 26, 2026 the new puppet Honduran government passed Decree No. 107-2026, also known as the Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agro-industrial, Energy, Tourism, and Livestock Sectors and Small Agricultural Producers. Framed as a strategy to attract foreign investment, the law declares these industries matters of national interest and expands protections for large-scale development projects.

Grassroots organizations warn that the law will accelerate land grabs, criminalization, and forced displacement.

Various organizations—including Via Campesina, Central Nacional de Trabajadores del Campo (CNTC), Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH), Plataforma Agraria, and a Garífuna organization, Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH)—have already denounced more than 1,000 eviction orders connected to this new legal framework, while suffering from deadly attacks on their lives. These organizations are defending their ancestral territories against tourism expansion and privatization, as we were able to witness during our visit to Wagaira Lé in March of this year. Read below to learn more!

OFRANEH is calling for the dropping of all charges of "aggravated usurpation" against their community members, Deinor Osmany Mejía Arzu, Irbin Rene López Cortes, Carlos Enrique Fernández Guzmán, Onil Rigoberto Hernández Zelaya, and Sara Abigail Acosta. They also demand accountability for the violence faced by their community on July 6th of this year in San Juan, Tela, when over 200 police officers descended upon the Garífuna community to carry out an unlawful eviction. They deployed tear gas, fired live ammunition, and arbitrarily arrested the five community members named previously, even though the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has ruled against Honduras on four separate occasions for violating the collective territorial and human rights of Garífuna communities, including in the community of San Juan as recently as 2023.

We maintain that these arrests and violent attacks are no accident, but an intentional political strategy under the new administration. Garífuna communities in Tela and San Juan continue resisting forced evictions and defending their ancestral territories against tourism expansion and privatization.

OFRANEH is on day 17 of their solidarity encampment in front of the Supreme Court in Tegucigalpa, demanding that all charges be dropped against their community members and that the rulings of the Inter- American Court of Human rights be upheld. 

We invite you to take action by: 

• Signing on to the support letter by Grassroots International urging Judge Wagner Vallecillo Paredes to guarantee the immediate and definitive cessation of the illegal judicial persecution of the 5 human rights defenders. 
• Share this story with your networks so more people understand the connections between land defense, migration, climate justice, and human rights!
• Follow @OFRANEH on X and @soawatch on instagram for ongoing updates.

Defending Garífuna Territory in Wagaire Lé

SOA Watch is committed to supporting and accompanying OFRANEH for the long-term, starting at the community level. In 2023 and most recently in 2026, SOA Watch cadre and artist collective visited the Wagaire Lé ("Our Land") community in Punta Gorda, Roatán, the site of the first Garífuna settlement in Honduras dating to April 12, 1797.

Despite increasing threats to Garífuna territories from tourism development and land dispossession, community members continue protecting their ancestral lands through sustainable agriculture and collective stewardship.

As part of our commitment to OFRANEH, we were proud to support the installation of a community water tank that has allowed families to continue planting throughout the dry season. Reliable water access means greater food sovereignty, stronger community resilience, and the ability to remain rooted on ancestral lands.

During the visit, Kiara also facilitated an art workshop with community members, creating space for young people and families to express their histories, hopes, and connection to the land.

“My first time visiting Wagaire Lé with SOA Watch was in 2023, I saw firsthand the remnants of the recent brutal attacks from the national police on the land and listened to their testimonials of the violent attacks against them. They talked about future plans of  rebuilding. I was humbled to have had the opportunity to return after three years and contribute through art. It was empowering to see just how much Wagaira Lé has grown, from the kitchen doubling in size, a variety of vegetables and herbs growing, electricity and water becoming more accessible through the water tank. This growth was also reflected in the responses of the workshop, where we asked “What does Wagaira Lé represent?”  And “What do you envision for the future of Wagaira Lé?” Through these responses I came up with a mock-up design for a mural that can be painted on the water tank. Alongside this design I also painted a mini mural inside the ceremonial tea house through the guidance of Meli. I had many participants help with this mini mural, the youngest being five years old. It was a beautiful experience being able to paint alongside community members and see their excitement as the mural was being completed. It inspired another community member to paint a mural on the outside of her home, which is the best feeling, to see how art can motivate us to express ourselves through a visual narrative.” 

SOA Watch Artist Collective member, Kiara Aileen Machado

“The Community of Wagaira Lé represents the legacy of afro-indigenous presence and resistance to displacement on the Caribbean coast of Central America and since before the founding of the state of Honduras. In 2023, a delegation from SOA Watch had the honor of visiting this community, and witnessing their determination, under the leadership of Melissa and Miriam with OFRANEH, to remain on their lands, and care for their people in Punta Gorda, Roatan. Today, more than ever, the Garífuna community, alongside other indigenous and land-based peoples as a whole, face dire and ongoing threats from rapidly advancing extractivism under the Asfura government.⁴ It is an imperative time to support this community’s valiant project of land defense as they cultivate the land, and in doing so, build alternatives to militarization.”    

SOA Watch Councilmember, Matthew Bridges 

At SOA Watch we continue to accompany communities impacted by foreign economic interests and U.S. backed state violence, and we work to address the root causes of displacement throughout the Americas. 

We rely on your ongoing support as we work toward a future where all people have the right to stay and thrive in their communities, and the right to move with dignity. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to support our work.