Writing about Honduras, Kirk Semple and the New York Times report that “As the coronavirus pandemic stalks the globe, some nations find themselves under extraordinary strain as they simultaneously contend with other outbreaks, chronic public health problems and challenges posed by government mismanagement, poverty and armed conflict.”

Interview with author Nina Lakhani about state of affairs in Honduras that is the backdrop for the decision to kill Berta. Lakhani’s book, “Who Killed Berta Cáceres?: Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet,” is available now with Verso Books.

• This is an extract from “Who Killed Berta Cáceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet”, by Nina Lakhani, published by Verso Books on 2 June

• Join conversation: with Nina Lakhani and Guardian US international editor Martin Hodgson to discuss the story behind Cáceres’s assassination

• When & how: Tuesday, June 9, 1pm EST/10am PST/5pm BST. To sign up, email: events.us@theguardian.com

Rights Action Covid19 update #5

The deaths and harms caused by Covid19 – a devastating threat to life and huge challenge to how humans co-exist – are multiplied and worsened by deeply entrenched systems of human inequality, discrimination and violence.

“Hudbay can continue to play with our poverty and suffering but we will continue to fight
on this long road in search for justice and dignified reparation
for all the harm they caused in 2007 and 2009.”
(Angelica Choc, one of 13 plaintiffs in Hudbay lawsuits)

“The fact that the company lied about the possible outbreak comes as no surprise. Hudbay has a history of violating the human rights of local populations at its operations in Guatemala and Peru. Their lack of respect for the Constancia affected communities facing [Covid19] forms part of a historic pattern of behaviour.”
Kirsten Francescone, MiningWatch Canada

What kind of Covid-19 response do you think these U.S. and Canadian-backed drug-trafficking regimes are providing for their majority populations?

Covid19 is a serious health challenge to humans. However, the real problems multiplying and worsening the impact of Covid19 are deeply entrenches systems of human inequality, discrimination and violence.