The Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO) of the Jesuit University of Guadalajara mourned the death of the Honduran environmentalist Juan López, who was murdered in the community of Tocoa in Honduras on September 14. Expressing solidarity with his family and colleagues, the Educational Center announced the tragic news.
The murder of Juan López occurred when he was returning home after attending a religious mass in the Fabio Ochoa neighborhood. Armed individuals reached the vehicle where the activist was and attacked him, according to his family. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights had granted Juan López precautionary measures in 2023 due to death threats he received.
The President of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, lamented the attack on the environmental leader and expressed her solidarity with Juan López's family and colleagues. The environmentalist had called for the resignation of the mayor of Tocoa for alleged acts of corruption and was known for defending the Carlos Escaleras Mountain National Park from open-pit mining that harmed the environment.
ITESO reported that Juan López, a student of the Master's in Education and Coexistence, was a defender of the environment and human rights. Despite dedicating himself to these causes, he also denounced corruption and impunity in his community. The Jesuit institution condemned the murder and highlighted the impact López's activism left at the university.
Judge Zoé Doralina Guifarro of the Judiciary of Honduras requested the release of Juan López's environmental struggle companions, who were detained in 2019 for opposing the mining project affecting protected areas in Honduras. Honduran authorities accused them of various crimes against a company conducting mining activities in areas that harmed important rivers in the region.