Four hooded men kidnapped Osman Alexis Ulloa Flores y Mario René Ayala Hernández, members the Unifed Peasant Movement of Aguan, MUCA. The men were abducted in Sinaloa, Colón, by a grey vehicle without plates on Wednesday morning at approximately 10:45 am.
The men are part of a group of 500 families of the MUCA who recovered over 800 hectares of state land on December 9 which have been in the possession of large landowner, Lieutenant René Morales, and which are subject to Decree 18-2008 governing forced expropriation of lands in Honduras. Another 500 families are occupying land that had been illegally taken by
Miguel Facussé, a large landowner and businessman with great economic and political power in the country.
According to extra official information, the men have been taken to cells at the police station of Tocoa, Colon. This means that Honduran citizens are at extreme risk due to the modus operandi of the police and army of the zone which have sustained constant pressure on the peasant communities since December 9th.
COFADEH has been informed that arrest warrants have been issued for the following indivudiuals: Miguel Ángel Funes; Jorge Antonio Rivas López; Pedro Marcial Zambrano; Luciano Erazo Carbajal; Ángel María Guevara; Maximiliano Ramírez; Magdiel López, José Castillo; Pedro Castillo y Santos Menjivar. In addition, there is an order to disperse the peasants which is planned for today. This operation could become an act of violence against the peasant’s and their families who are occupying these lands, and result in the loss of life.
It was also denounced that the police and army have integrated prívate security operatives from the business of Facussé, which enables them to threaten families that are struggling for land.
Over 400 thousand hectáreas of land have been recovered at this momento. These lands are disputed by Facussé, Morales and Gustavo Canales, impacting the rights to land of thousands of families.
In light of this tense situation, we urgently ask the international community and human rights organizations to take whatever actions you can to stop the repression against the peasants who are being harassed and threatened with death.