Indigenous rights | “Hunger for justice” in Honduras

Photo: Jutta Blume Mabel Robledo, you are committed to regaining the ancestral territories of the Garífuna. How exactly does this work?

Personally, I was involved in three land recaptures. In recent years, we have reclaimed approximately 280 hectares of land within our communities that was in the hands of third parties. Although the community of Nueva Armenia lived in cramped conditions, there were only about 500 houses, and up to 12 or 14 people lived in each house. Mothers lived there with their children and grandchildren.

Housing has now been created on each of the reclaimed properties, giving young people the opportunity to now own a home, a piece of land to farm and an inheritance to leave to their children.

They have been active in the fight for the Garífuna's territories since the end of 2018, which is also accompanied by personal threats. What motivated you to get involved in this way?

I believe that I was chosen by the ancestors to participate in the defense of the territory. Because I have my own house, I was doing well financially, I had my own job and studied law at university - it was my third degree. But one afternoon a man informed me that there were strangers in one of our territories who claimed to be farmers. I went to the local government office and was told, "Find five people and tell those five to find another five." And so the chain continued. When we arrived at the property there were about eight people with machetes who wouldn't let us get on it. But we were more than 100 Garífuna.

Mabel Robledo, 39, comes from the Garífuna community of Nueva Armenia on Honduras' Atlantic coast. The Garífuna, descendants of indigenous people and people deported from Africa, already lived on the coast before the state of Honduras was founded there. As an Afro-indigenous population group, they have special collective land rights on their traditional territories, but these are largely ignored in practice. Garífuna activists often try to enforce their rights by reoccupying properties. Robledo was an inspector with the Honduran National Police until 2018. She has been an activist for Garífuna rights since 2018 and has been mayor of Nueva Armenia since 2022. “nd” met her during a visit to Berlin.

At that time they were successful against the invaders. But after that you were threatened.

It was that they threatened all the leaders; one went to Spain, others moved to the United States. Out of everyone, only two of us remained in the village. So we both took the lead. Later I was also threatened and went to Costa Rica for three months. From there I returned and ended up staying in my community.

Why is it so difficult to reclaim the Garífuna territories? What interests are you fighting against?

Our areas are highly sought after for their pristine beaches and natural diversity. And that's exactly what investors want to sell to foreigners, because tourists crave an area where they can find peace and connect with the sea. And the only ones who have such areas are the Garífuna communities.

Drug traffickers also have their eye on our communities because they are far from the city. They can easily hide there from the law and their own enemies.

The Cayos Cochinos, an archipelago off the coast of Nueva Armenia, also belong to the Garífuna area. There is a particular conflict there involving the Fundación Cayos Cochinos, which supposedly ensures nature conservation in this marine area.

The Cayos Cochinos were declared a protected area in 1993 and a natural monument in 2003. The community there was not consulted. Since the establishment of the protected area, more than 13 fishermen have disappeared in the region to date. There on the Cayos Cochinos I took part in my first protest camp. The reason for this meeting was that Marines had targeted a young man, pointed their guns at some of our men and taken away the catch from other fishermen.

In 2026, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Honduran state had violated the right to free prior and informed consultation when establishing the Cayos Cochinos Nature Reserve. The community was also not consulted regarding the filming of reality shows on the Cayos. Nevertheless, the program “Supervivientes” continued to be filmed this year.

What is “Supervivientes” about? Do you know how much money the foundation receives for renting out the Cayos Cochinos as a film location?

The show has been filming since 2006. Its creators want to sell people in Spain the idea that the participants live on a remote island where there are only mosquitoes and wild animals. This is a lie because this island is inhabited by Garífuna like me. To sell this image, they must ban fishermen from fishing there and ban boats from passing through the area as part of sustainable tourism.

The foundation is just a facade - the contract for the filming is between the Sociedad de Inversiones Ecológicas S. A., the program “Supervivientes” and the Honduran state. A protected area was created only because the area could not be exploited by a private company. It is the worst form of corruption that can exist in the world. We keep asking the foundation if there are studies on how the filming of the reality shows affects the biodiversity in the region, but they claim there is no ecological damage.

Filming used to take place from February to June, with two teams coming one after the other. Since 2025, two film shoots are no longer enough. Even before the turtles lay their eggs, they come back. We estimate that filming grosses around $1.5 to $2 million per year.

Does any of this money go to the community or go towards environmental protection?

No. It's a lucrative business. You don't have to pay taxes because it is a protected area. They receive support from other organizations as the area needs to be protected. The communities live under precarious conditions. Only the hotel owners benefit from this filming. Economic interest takes precedence over environmental protection.

Their last protest camp on the Cayos Cochinos was forcibly evacuated. Whose economic interests are you fighting against there?

One of the biggest investors there is the owner of Banco Azteca in Honduras and Mexico, Ricardo Salinas Pliego. So it quickly becomes clear who we are dealing with. You come across names of the most powerful families in Honduras such as the Kafatis, the Canahuatis, the Rosenthals and the Carrións. So we're not dealing with any poor wretches here.

You said that you had to flee the country for a while. What threats are you currently exposed to?

Less than four months after we held our first protest camp, I was already offered 380,000 lempiras. In my current position, I was even offered millions of lempiras (tens of thousands of euros, editor's note). But this is not a battle about individual interests - it is about collective interests.

I'm hungry, but hungry for justice, hungry for equality, hungry to leave a legacy. I could tell a lot of things that happened to me. After I testified in court, I was shot. The police arrested me, took me to prison and beat me. Now, when I left Honduras to come to Europe, four assassins had been given the green light and they are still after me.

We are fighting against people who have economic and political power. They have the financial means to kill someone and make them disappear. And we live in a country where the police don't investigate.

What does this constant threat mean for your personal life, for your everyday life?

You have to be aware of what you are doing and the risks involved in this fight. You have to take safety precautions and understand that your life will change. Simply spending time with friends, going to a restaurant or going to the gym is not possible. I'm a loner, but only move in a pack when I have to get something done. I have to distrust everyone.

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