The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has previously issued precautionary measures for local activists, who have faced threats, surveillance, and intimidation while defending land and environmental rights. The 2024 killing of environmental leader Juan López highlighted the dangers of protecting natural resources in the heavily militarised region. Honduras frequently ranks among the world’s most dangerous countries for environmentalists, with five killed in 2024 and 18 in 2023, according to Global Witness. Three suspects in López’s murder have been arrested, providing a rare instance of accountability.
The second attack targeted police in Omoa, Cortes department, near the Guatemalan border, killing six officers, including a senior official. The officers were en route to Omoa from Tegucigalpa on an anti-gang mission when they came under fire.
National Police spokesperson Edgardo Barahona said confirming the death toll in Trujillo was complicated as some families had removed the bodies of victims. Investigators have been dispatched to the scene.
The Security Ministry said the National Police and armed forces will respond to both areas, with teams including forensic experts and prosecutors investigating the attacks.
Honduras has long battled high crime rates linked to gangs and transnational drug trafficking, though homicides have declined since a 2011 peak of 83 per 100,000 residents, according to the World Bank.
International human rights organisations have criticised the country’s militarised approach, arguing it has resulted in torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings, including during a three-year state of exception that suspended certain constitutional rights and expanded security forces’ powers, ending in January 2026.
