On November 2, the date of the celebration of the Day of the Dead, a group of peasants of Bajo Aguan were going to the local cemetery when they were assaulted by a group of security guards, the local organizations reported.

Two men were killed in the attack by assassins hired by local businessman Rene Morales: Catalino Lopez (50) member of the group El Despertar, and Jose Luis Lemus (35) who was taken to the San Pedro Sula hospital in a serious condition and later died.

Police and military participated in the assault, says Fian report published by ALBA TV, and it was part of Xatruch II operation that extended in Bajo Aguan under the excuse of stopping violence but which it ends up increasing it.

In this particular case, the police officers that participated in the operation went to the place “with the security guards, regardless of their obligation of arresting the perpetrators and helping the victims”, says Fian.

50 peasants have already been murdered since Porfirio Lobo took office and they have all remained unpunished.

The seriousness of these incidents led to the intervention of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (ICHR), which has been monitoring “serious human rights violations” in Bajo Aguan.

According to the Commission, which visited this conflictive region in February/March of this year, there are nearly 3,500 peasant families demanding their right to land, who are under threat by big land owners, most of them palm oil producers.