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Vallecito - Faya, Colon

 

Organizacion depredadora/predator: Clan Facussé, Cartel Atlantico

Articles/Artículosarriba

El territorio libre de Vallecito  11/20/2019 ContraCorriente: "La comunidad de Vallecito, considerada el último santuario garífuna, es también pensada como el primer territorio libre de un pueblo que debe enfrentarse todos los días a las amenazas que implica coexistir en una zona fértil para el monocultivo de palma aceitera y el narcotráfico. Ubicada en el municipio de Limón, este territorio ancestral garífuna fue ocupado durante un tiempo por Reinaldo Villalobos, un terrateniente que había construido la finca «El Dorado» donde una pista de aterrizaje, que según pobladores de la zona, era usada para el narcotráfico. Hoy, esa pista es la plantación de cocos y yuca de la comunidad. Villalobos, —cuenta Miriam Miranda, coordinadora de la Organización Fraternal Negra de Honduras (OFRANEH)— murió mientras iba a recoger un cargamento de droga a mar abierto, su embarcación naufragó y del susto murió de un paro cardíaco, y no fue hasta después de su muerte que llegaron los militares a dinamitar la pista del narco."

Violence Against Indigenous Hondurans Shows Us What Fuels Migration  8/28/2019 Common Dreams: "As Grassroots International’s Solidarity Program Officer for Latin America, I have accompanied and supported the Garifuna and OFRANEH in their struggles for years. Vallecito is sacred for the Garifuna. Although a chronic target for attack, it is also a symbol for reclamation and resistance among the ancestral territory that has been stolen from them. This most recent assault has come after a resurgence of narco-traffickers in the area. For years, narcos had used the Garifuna’s tree cover and easy access to the coast to run drugs — including at one point through a clandestine airstrip. Members of OFRANEH believe drug-runners are now trying to steal back the land Garifuna have been able to reclaim. The Honduran government, in bed with narcos and corporate raiders, has a deep apathy and antipathy towards the Garifuna. “Repeatedly the police have told us that they know these people and they are ‘friends with them,’” Miriam Miranda, a leader in OFRANEH, said of the response to the recent assaults."

Honduran minority fights for a threatened way of life  8/28/2019 Reuters: "About 100 people inhabit Vallecito, a cluster of mud-brick bungalows grouped around a pair of imposing temples with tall thatched roofs. It now has a school and will soon launch its own community radio station. Most have moved there in recent years as part of a concerted effort to reclaim Garifuna lands abandoned due to the threat of violence from drug cartels and encroachment by palm oil companies - among them Francisca Arreola. “People came from Garifuna communities all over Honduras to protect this place,” said the 59-year-old, who moved from a nearby town in 2012. “This land belonged to our ancestors. We cannot let anyone take it from us,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation."

Violence Against Indigenous Hondurans Shows Us What Fuels Migration  8/28/2019 Common Dreams: "As Grassroots International’s Solidarity Program Officer for Latin America, I have accompanied and supported the Garifuna and OFRANEH in their struggles for years. Vallecito is sacred for the Garifuna. Although a chronic target for attack, it is also a symbol for reclamation and resistance among the ancestral territory that has been stolen from them. This most recent assault has come after a resurgence of narco-traffickers in the area. For years, narcos had used the Garifuna’s tree cover and easy access to the coast to run drugs — including at one point through a clandestine airstrip. Members of OFRANEH believe drug-runners are now trying to steal back the land Garifuna have been able to reclaim."

Asamblea de mujeres luchadoras de Honduras ¡movilizadas!  8/22/2019 ALAI Net: "Este 21 de agosto, mujeres de diferentes pueblos y territorios aglutinadas en el espacio Asamblea de Mujeres Luchadoras de Honduras, se manifestaron frente a las instalaciones de la Corte Suprema de Justicia en Tegucigalpa, denunciando el saqueo sistemáticos de tierras y bienes comunes, la criminalización de la protesta y la judicialización de defensores y defensoras, la militarización de territorios, el racismo y la violencia contra las mujeres. El 28 de junio pasado, a diez años del golpe de estado, más de 1200 mujeres y aproximadamente 350 niños y niñas de seis pueblos originarios de Honduras, se reunieron en el territorio garífuna de Vallecito para hacer memoria histórica, pensar, articular luchas, acuerparse y gritar ante la violencia estructural que las agobia."

GRUPOS ARMADOS INTENTAN REACTIVAR CORREDOR DE NARCOTRÁFICO EN VALLECITO  8/15/2019 RMR: "Las tierras de Vallecito han sido recuperadas a fuerza de resistencia por el pueblo garífuna, tienen un invaluable valor económico y están en un eje clave para la producción agrícola, aunque fuertemente amenazadas por los efectos del cambio climático, la erosión costera, los proyectos mineros, los proyectos de ciudades modelo, y el avance del narcotráfico -utilizando ese lugar como corredor para traficar drogas-. La presencia del narcotráfico no es nueva: tras años de avance de los traficantes por los territorios ancestrales, deforestando bosques en Centroamérica para convertirlos en pistas de aterrizaje y establecer sus centros de control, se había logrado frenar su amenaza, pero en las últimas semanas volvieron a amedrentar lugares como la playa de Vallecito."

Colón: comunidad garífuna de Vallecito, amenazada y en zozobra «por hombres armados»  8/14/2019 Tiempo Digital: "La comunidad garífuna que vive en Vallecito, municipio de Limón, en el departamento de Colón, se siente en riesgo por la presencia constante de hombres armados y denuncian que las autoridades no «hacen nada». La inestabilidad de esta zona se debe a que en años anteriores era un punto estratégico para los narcotraficantes. Sin embargo en 2011, una pista clandestina fue destruida y los habitantes recuperaron el territorio. Pero la paz que habían logrado se está viendo interrumpida desde hace unos meses por la presencia constante de hombres que llegan en motos y automóviles con armas prohibidas como fusiles."

Destrucción de los viveros de coco en Vallecito  7/8/2019 OFRANEH: "A pesar de los esfuerzo realizados por el pueblo Garífuna para recuperar uno de los alimentos básicos de la gastronomía de nuestro pueblo, parece ser que existe un complot entre los vecinos de Vallecito – entre los que se encuentran los heredero de Miguel Facusse- para destruir las plántulas destinadas a repartirse entre las comunidades, las que así eventualmente tendrán viveros con los cuales se iniciaría la replantación a nivel de la costa Garífuna. El pasado viernes, en horas de la noche, parte del vivero de cocos fue destruido por el ganado de algún mal intencionado “vecino”. Cabe señalar que desde años, grupos aliados al crimen organizado han tratado de apoderarse de nuevo de Vallecito, paraje que hasta el 2014 fue utilizado como pista clandestina."

Honduran Women’s Manifesto of Rebellion  7/3/2019 Encuentro de Mujeres: "In the rebel Garífuna territory of Vallecito, Iriona, Colón, Honduras, surrounded by elements of nature that nourish life and hope, 1,200 women and approximately 350 children gathered and embraced each other with life and words, arriving from Choluteca, El Paraíso, Copan, Olancho, Valle, Francisco Morazán, Gracias a Dios, Colón, Yoro, Cortes, Atlántida, Intibucá, Lempira, La Paz, Comayagua, and Santa Bárbara.We felt ancestors Margarita Murillo, María Enriqueta Matute, Berta Cáceres, Magdalena Morales and aunt Macucu with us in all of our actions as spirit, as thought and as strength. We felt the energies of our peoples, of the Tolupán, Lenca, Misquito, Garífuna, Pech, Maya Chortí and all other peoples in struggle, coming together after ten years of the coup d’état and the resistance of the Honduran people, of the women of Honduras."

Manifiesto Rebelde de Mujeres Hondureñas  7/1/2019 OFRANEH: "En el rebelde territorio Garífuna de Vallecito, Iriona, Colón, Honduras, con la presencia de los elementos de la naturaleza que hacen crecer la vida y la esperanza de quienes caminamos para llegar al encuentro, donde más de 1200 mujeres y aproximadamente 350 niñas y niños fueron abrazadas por el encuentro como la continuidad de la vida y la palabra provenientes de Choluteca, El Paraíso, Copan, Olancho, Valle, Francisco Morazán, Gracias a Dios, Colón, Yoro, Cortes, Atlántida, Intibucá, Lempira, La Paz, Comayagua, Santa Bárbara."

VENTA DE CAZABE  11/15/2018 Comunicador Garifuna: "LA OFRANEH, Y LA OLAMUGAH: realizan ya la gran actividad de la venta de Cazabe en la nueva comunidad garifuna de Vallecito (Faya), proyecto que realizan las mujeres garifuna en el fomento de la gastronomía hondureña. Estamos listos para poder expandir la venta de nuestros productos a Nivel Nacional e Internacional. Gracias x su apoyo, consumamos lo nuestro!!"

Honduran minority fights for a threatened way of life  8/28/2018 Reuters: "Six years ago, the Honduran settlement of Vallecito was all but abandoned. Now it is a thriving community for the Garifuna minority and the heartland of their fight against what they see as a concerted effort to drive them from their ancestral lands. About 100 people inhabit Vallecito, a cluster of mud-brick bungalows grouped around a pair of imposing temples with tall thatched roofs. It now has a school and will soon launch its own community radio station. Most have moved there in recent years as part of a concerted effort to reclaim Garifuna lands abandoned due to the threat of violence from drug cartels and encroachment by palm oil companies - among them Francisca Arreola."

Honduras: Indigenous Garifuna use radio to fight for their land  6/25/2018 Mongabay: "Miranda’s organization helps run a total of six Garifuna community radio stations across Honduras, all of which have close links with other indigenous radio stations and causes. In a country renowned as the most dangerous in the world for environmental rights activists, these stations have helped raise the profile of people on the frontlines of the struggle to protect indigenous lands and ways of life. They also highlight the regular injustices activists face at the hands of the Honduran state."

Encuentro de Mujeres Garifunas  5/4/2018 OFRANEH: "Mayo 5 y 6 - Faya - Vallecito, Colón"

Danny Glover participating in Garifuna traditional Arumuhani....  1/31/2018 Luther Castillo Harry: "Inédito, solo en Vallecito- Faya con Miriam Miranda y nuestro Pueblo Garifuna. El hermano mayor Danny Glover en el ARUMAHANI Garifuna junto a mi Hermano Vicealcalde de Sacramento y empresario Allen Warren. Achikaplatica chürügü chürügü. Jajajajajajajajaja bello Lindo maravilloso. SUN WAGIA GARINAGU- TODOS SOMOS GARINAGU."

Visita a Vallecito  1/31/2018 OFRANEH: "Entre la delegación de estadounidenses que acompañaban a Luther Castillo Harry y @DannyLGlover se encontraba GusNewport, excalde Berkley. En el vídeo Miriam Miranda explica como fue que el crimen organizado se apropió de Vallecito, situación que implicó una lucha de años para lograr que el Instituto Nacional Agrario (INA) remidiera las tierras de las empresas asociativas, las que habían sido usurpadas en un 80%."

Honduras’ Garifuna communities resist eviction and theft of land  8/3/2015 Waging Nonviolence: "In August 2012, members of communities across the Honduran Atlantic coast reclaimed the heart of their territory from encroachment by narco-traffickers, mega-tourism projects and the expansion of palm oil. They founded the community of Vallecito in the territory that the Garifuna consider to be their ancestral land, a mile inland from the sea."

The Indigenous Fight for Lands and Cultural Survival in Honduras  12/16/2014 Foreign Policy in Focus: "Narcos, long interested in the strategic characteristics of the land for clandestine drug running — including space for a runway, a hidden creek to the sea, and its remote location — had invaded the legally titled Garifuna lands. In 2012, the community reoccupied its land with drumming and ceremony, despite threats and automatic rifle fire. Since then, however, a portion of the land has been re-invaded. OFRANEH’s strategy to win back Vallecito is to apply strong enough pressure, together with allies around Honduras and the world, that the governmental Agrarian Institute of Honduras will be forced to evict the illegal usurpers. The future of Vallecito is complicated by the Honduran government’s plans for so-called “charter cities.” Know as ciudades modelos in Spanish, these are foreign enclaves shielded from Honduran sovereignty and financed by international investors, with their own security and laws. Vallecito is at the center of a large swath of Garifuna territory the government has in mind for this project. If it is consolidated, dozens of Garifuna communities could be displaced."

Vallecito Resists, Satuye Lives! The Garífuna Resistance to Honduras’ Charter Cities  9/18/2012 Upside Down World: "The Garífuna drums echo robustly and the people’s fervor rises with the tension in the camp as the tarps sound thunderously as they are jarred to and fro in the gale. It is impossible to distinguish the faint movement of people outside the main tent in the absence of the moon and her stars. Suddenly, out of the darkness that surrounds the encampment like an ocean fog that encroaches silently from afar, enveloping everything in its path, heavily armed men wielding sophisticated weaponry burst onto the scene unleashing a barrage of gunfire above the camp. They arrive mounted in pairs on motorcycles, an act in of itself illegal in Honduras[ii]. They move rapidly from one edge of the camp to the other, relentlessly firing a hairs shot above anything they encounter in their trail. They are uniformed, but not with official police or military uniforms, but well uniformed nonetheless."

Se reanuda el Proceso de Remedición de las Tierras de Vallecito, Colón  9/5/2012 OFRANEH: "Como parte del reclamo del pueblo Garifuna sobre la usurpación de Vallecito, Colón, nuestra organizacion emprendió la semana pasada una jornada cultural y política en el territorio usurpado, que tuvo como ambientación traqueteos constantes de armas automáticas, con el proposito de intimidarnos y disuadir el proceso de remedición prometido en diversas ocasiones por el Instituto Nacional Agrario, I.N.A y que una vez no se llevó a efecto."

URGENT ACTION on Vallecito, from OFRANEH - Process of Land Remediation is Renewed on the Garifuna Lands of Vallecito, Colon  9/4/2012 Quotha: "Any action suffered by the Garifunas will be the responsibility of the paid gunmen of Reinaldo Villalobo and of Miguel Facusse, as well as the government itself." [Facusse is one of the wealthiest men in the country and a large scale drug trafficker.]

Alert: Urgent request for solidarity as Day 2 of Land Recovery begins over the presence of armed men in expensive vehicles  8/28/2012 Honduras Eyewitness: "Since yesterday, many communications have been sent to the current government administration, about the menace and threats directed at the representatives of the Garifuna communties, awaiting the process of land title remediation, of the associative (Garifuna) businesses of Vallecito."

African Palm and Afro-Indigenous Resistance: Race and Dispossession of Garifuna Lands on Honduras' Northern Coast  6/1/2011 DePaul University: Includes chapter on "Garífuna Land Recuperation, Organizing, & Activism"

HONDURAS: GARIFUNA LEADER'S HOUSE BURNT DOWN AND SHOTS FIRED  10/20/1999 Garinet: "Tragically, it appears that this struggle has entered a stage of violence, as this past week, the house of one of the Garifuna leaders was set on fire by some type of flame-thrower weapon, and then shots of an automatic weapon were fired into it. The house, which was occupied by the family including children, is in Vallecito, where Garifuna have been living and working in an agricultural cooperative for over 9 years (Nuevo Amanecer). Their land abuts the ever-expanding lands of Facusse, one of the biggest land-owners in the country, who is also a relative to the president. The members of the cooperative have long been subject to invasions of their land and threats, but this escalation into outright violence has everyone fearful of a bloodbath. There is evidence of hired killers."
    

Links/Enlaces

URGENT: Garifuna Community Under Attack
act.grassrootsonline.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=26848

ejatlas.org/conflict/garifuna-resistance-in-vallecito-land-grabbing-for-palm-oil-plantations-and-drug-trade
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