Originally published at The Crux
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SÃO PAULO, Brazil – After a year and a half, one of the masterminds behind the tragic killing of Catholic environmental activist Juan López – which occurred in Sept. 2024 in Honduras – was finally charged and detained by authorities, giving the local Church hope that justice will be served.
Adán Fúnez, formerly the mayor of the municipality of Tocoa, was arrested on May 12 for allegedly being involved in López’s murder. His temporary arrest was converted to preventive detention, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 12.
He was arrested alongside Juan Ramos and Héctor Méndez, who were also accused of planning López’s killing.
López, a leader of the Municipal Committee in Defense of the Common and Public Goods of Tocoa – an organization that works to protect the local environment – had denounced Fúnez to prosecutors for allegedly issuing fraudulent operating licenses to a mining group.
With the assistance of municipal officials, Fúnez allegedly provided falsified public documents to the group Emco Holdings, Los Pinares, and Ecotek, which is responsible for a megaproject located in Carlos Escaleras National Park (also known as Montaña de Botaderos).
The project involved not only iron oxide mining, but also a pellet
