Home Comunidades/Communities Garifuna OFRANEH ODECO ONECA COPINH Narco America
Vallecito - Faya, Colon
Organizacion depredadora/predator: Clan Facussé, Cartel Atlantico |
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."
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
Info sobre los depredadores
garifunawebmailgmail.com
Portal Noticias Garinagu OFRANEH ONECA