Case file
Killing of Berta Cáceres
Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores (4 March 1971 – 2 March 2016) was a Honduran Lenca indigenous leader and co-founder of the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). She won the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize for leading a grassroots campaign that pressured the world's largest dam builder to withdraw from the Agua Zarca Dam project on the Río Gualcarque, a project she and the local Lenca community opposed on the grounds that it threatened their water, food, and traditional way of life without proper consultation.
Cáceres led years of protest against the dam, developed by Honduran company Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA) in partnership with Chinese firm Sinohydro and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation. During a 2013 protest, the Honduran military opened fire on demonstrators, killing COPINH member Tomás García and injuring others. Cáceres faced criminal charges over the protests, and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had granted her formal "precautionary measures" for her protection following threats surrounding the 2009 Honduran coup. In 2013 she told Al Jazeera that the army kept an assassination list with her name at the top.
On the night of 2 March 2016, Cáceres was shot dead by armed intruders in her home in La Esperanza. Mexican activist Gustavo Castro Soto, who was staying with her, survived two gunshot wounds. Despite the standing IACHR protective measures, Cáceres had no protection at the time of her death. Her killing prompted international condemnation, including calls for investigation from the Organization of American States, the U.S. Ambassador to Honduras, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, along with protests in Honduras and abroad.
The Honduran government's initial investigation drew criticism from Amnesty International and Cáceres' family for procedural failures, including an autopsy conducted without independent oversight and the detention of a COPINH member and a security guard who were later released for lack of evidence. Sole witness Gustavo Castro Soto said he was treated as a suspect and barred from leaving the country for a month. In May 2016, authorities arrested four men, including a DESA environmental manager, a former security contractor, and two military officers. By February 2017, The Guardian reported that three of eight arrested suspects had links to US-trained elite Honduran military units, two of whom had trained at the former School of the Americas (now WHINSEC) at Fort Benning, Georgia.
In November 2017, an international legal panel (GAIPE) found "willful negligence" by financial institutions including CABEI, FMO, and Finnfund, and identified participation by DESA executives, private security personnel, and state security agents in crimes connected to the assassination. In March 2018, David Castillo, DESA's former executive president, was arrested as an alleged mastermind of the killing. In November 2018, seven of eight men tried were convicted of murder; in December 2019, four were sentenced to 34 years for Cáceres' murder plus 16 years for the attempted murder of Castro Soto, while three others received 30-year sentences for organizing the assassination. On 6 July 2021, Honduras' Supreme Court unanimously found David Castillo guilty of plotting the assassination, ruling he used paid informants and military contacts to monitor Cáceres and arranged payment for the killing; he was sentenced on 20 June 2022 to 22 years and 6 months in prison.
Key facts
- Victims
- Gustavo Castro Soto, Berta Cáceres
- Date
- 2010s
- Location
- La Esperanza, Intibucá, Honduras
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
1971-03-04
Berta Isabel Cáceres Flores born in La Esperanza, Honduras.
1993
Cáceres co-founds the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).
2006
Cáceres investigates and begins organizing Lenca opposition to planned Agua Zarca dam project on the Río Gualcarque.
2013-07-15
Honduran military opens fire on protesters at the dam site, killing COPINH member Tomás García and injuring others.
2013
Sinohydro and the International Finance Corporation withdraw from the Agua Zarca project following COPINH protests.
2015
Cáceres awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize.
2016-02-20
More than 100 protesters detained by security; threats against COPINH increase.
2016-03-02
Cáceres shot dead by armed intruders in her home in La Esperanza; Gustavo Castro Soto wounded.
2016-03-03
Government performs autopsy without independent oversight; COPINH member Aureliano Molina Villanueva detained as a suspect.
2016-03-05
Molina released for lack of evidence; Cáceres' children hold press conference demanding international investigation.
2016-05-02
Government arrests four men, including a DESA manager, a former security contractor, and two military officers.
2017-02
The Guardian reports three of eight arrested suspects linked to US-trained elite Honduran military units.
2017-11
GAIPE international legal panel releases report finding willful negligence by financial institutions and implicating DESA and state security agents.
2018-03
David Castillo, former executive president of DESA, arrested as alleged mastermind of the murder.
2018-11
Seven of eight men tried are convicted of murder.
2019-12
Four assassins sentenced to 34 years for murder plus 16 years for attempted murder of Castro Soto; three others sentenced to 30 years.
2021-07-06
Honduras' Supreme Court unanimously finds David Castillo guilty of plotting the assassination.
2022-06-20
David Castillo sentenced to 22 years and 6 months in prison.
Best coverage
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People
Roberto David Castillo
CONVICTEDFormer executive president of DESA, found guilty by Honduras' Supreme Court on 6 July 2021 of plotting Cáceres' assassination; sentenced 20 June 2022 to 22 years and 6 months in prison.
Gustavo Castro Soto
VICTIMMexican environmental activist wounded by gunfire during the attack on Cáceres; sole witness to the killing.
Douglas Giovanny Bustillo
CONVICTEDRetired Honduran lieutenant linked to the assassination; among those trained at the former School of the Americas (WHINSEC), Fort Benning, Georgia.
Berta Cáceres
VICTIMHonduran Lenca environmental and indigenous rights leader, shot dead in her home on 2 March 2016.
Aureliano Molina Villanueva
ACQUITTEDCOPINH member detained as a suspect on 3 March 2016 and released on 5 March 2016 for lack of evidence linking him to the crime.
Mariano Díaz
CONVICTEDHonduran army major linked to the assassination; among those trained at the former School of the Americas (WHINSEC), Fort Benning, Georgia.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
unclassified
Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres, 2016 (cropped)
Credit: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos from Washington · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Bertha Zúniga Cáceres postcard
Credit: WhoseKnowledge? - Photos · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Berta Zúñiga Cáceres 3
Credit: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos from Washington · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Manifestación Berta Cáceres-OAS 5 de abril de 2016 (2)
Credit: Daniel Cima · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Berta Zúñiga Cáceres
Credit: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos from Washington · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Manifestación Berta Cáceres-OAS 5 de abril de 2016 (1)
Credit: Daniel Cima · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Berta Zúñiga Cáceres 4
Credit: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos from Washington · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Berta Zúñiga Cáceres 5
Credit: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos from Washington · CC BY 2.0 · Source
unclassified
Honduras Bajo Aguán (26261650245)
Credit: Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos from Washington · CC BY 2.0 · Source
portrait public figure
Berta Cáceres (2)
Credit: UN Environment · CC BY 3.0 · Source
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- Honduran Lenca environmental and indigenous rights leader Berta Cáceres was shot dead by armed intruders in her home on 2 March 2016 after years of threats over her campaign against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam; multiple men, including the dam-building company's former president, were later convicted in connection with her killing.
- Where did the killing happen?
- La Esperanza, Intibucá, Honduras.
- Who was convicted?
- Roberto David Castillo (Former executive president of DESA, found guilty by Honduras' Supreme Court on 6 July 2021 of plotting Cáceres' assassination; sentenced 20 June 2022 to 22 years and 6 months in prison.), Douglas Giovanny Bustillo (Retired Honduran lieutenant linked to the assassination; among those trained at the former School of the Americas (WHINSEC), Fort Benning, Georgia.), and Mariano Díaz (Honduran army major linked to the assassination; among those trained at the former School of the Americas (WHINSEC), Fort Benning, Georgia.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
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Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICBertha CáceresWikipedia · 2026-07-05
- PRESSHonduran indigenous rights campaigner wins Goldman prizeThe Guardian · 2026-07-05
- PRESSBerta Cáceres, Indigenous Activist, Is Killed in HondurasThe New York Times · 2026-07-05
Record history
- First published
- JUL 05, 2026
- Last verified against sources
- JUL 05, 2026