On March 2, 2016, indigenous leader and human rights defender Berta Cáceres was murdered in her home in La Esperanza, Intibucá. A 530-page report by the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI Honduras) reconstructs how the crime was planned and financed, identifies corporate, financial, and State responsibility for the killing of the Lenca leader, and proposes a comprehensive reparations plan.
The investigation — reconstructed through wiretaps, digital forensics, criminal files, financial and banking records — exposes how the silencing of Berta Cáceres was a strategic business decision to protect the interests of the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project and its investors.
Key Investigative Findings
- Coordinated Criminal Network: The murder involved hired gunmen, military-trained intermediaries, DESA personnel and directors, and networks of support within the Honduran government.
- State Failure to Prevent: Authorities possessed real-time intelligence from intercepted communications regarding weapons, payments, and logistics months before the murder. Despite this foreknowledge, they failed to prevent the crime.
- Financing the Crime: International development funds (disbursed by BCIE/CABEI, FMO, and Finnfund) intended for the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project were diverted to finance the purchase of indigenous land, surveillance, armed incursions, and the killing. Approximately 67% of project funds (USD 12.4 million) were irregularly handled, with evidence showing DESA employees cashed checks from these loans to pay the hit squad.
- Systemic Repression: The “Agua Zarca” project was imposed through illegal surveillance, militarization, and the criminalization of the COPINH movement and the Río Blanco Lenca community.
Lasting Impact and Harm
The murder and the Agua Zarca project caused profound harm to Berta’s family, survivor Gustavo Castro, COPINH, the Río Blanco Lenca community, and the Gualcarque River through militarization, surveillance, displacement, and criminalization.
The Path to Reparation
The report calls on Honduran authorities to revoke the Agua Zarca concession, recognize the collective land title of the Río Blanco Lenca community, dissolve DESA, prosecute corporate and financial actors, and purge intelligence files, among other reparations measures.
Explore the Evidence
See the Evidence Microsite(opens in a new tab)
Learn more about the GIEI(opens in a new tab)
Watch the Launch(opens in a new tab)
Read the Report
Executive Summary (in English)
GIEI HONDURAS (in Spanish)(opens in a new tab)
Learn More
New Expert Group Appointed to Advance Justice for Honduran Activist Berta Cáceres
Independent Investigation of the Murder of Berta Cáceres
Dam Violence: The Plan That Killed Berta Cáceres(opens in a new tab)
Media Coverage
“O ellos o nosotros”: la CIDH documenta al detalle la trama financiera que acabó en el asesinato de Berta Cáceres en Honduras(opens in a new tab), El País América, 1/11/26(opens in a new tab)
El GIEI Honduras entrega Informe Final del caso Berta Cáceres(opens in a new tab), CIDH, 1/12/26
Report Puts International Banks, Honduras Elites at Center of Berta Cáceres Murder(opens in a new tab), InSight Crime, 1/12/26
Diez años después, informe revela que asesinato de Berta Cáceres fue un crimen económico(opens in a new tab), Criterio, 1/12/26
A 10 años del asesinato de Berta Cáceres: ¿llegará la justicia para la activista?(opens in a new tab), CNN Latinoamérica, 1/12/26
Caso Berta Cáceres: GIEI concluye que el asesinato fue “previsible y prevenible”(opens in a new tab), Aristegui Noticias, 1/13/26
“Pasar del dato aislado al patrón”: Sergio Beltrán presenta la plataforma sobre Berta Cáceres(opens in a new tab), Aristegui Noticias, 1/13/26