COPINH
Berta CáceresCausa Berta CáceresEnglish

FICOHSA Bank lobbies in the U.S. against the Berta Cáceres Law and lies again.

COPINH

AQUI EN ESPAÑOL

The Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras COPINH makes public the following:

In the midst of the trial against the convicted murderer David Castillo, co-author of the assassination of our comrade Berta Cáceres, it was made public that the FICOHSA Bank of Camilo Atala, hired a firm of lobbyists in the United States to act against the Berta Cáceres Law for Human Rights, as well as against the anti-corruption law and human rights in Honduras.

Banco FICOHSA hired former congressman Alan Wheat from a lobbying firm called Polsinelli, a firm of more than 900 lawyers, to act against legislative initiatives for human rights in Honduras led by congressmen and social organizations in the United States.

Banco FICOHSA has lied publicly again, through Polsinelli, by trying to disassociate itself from the financing of the Agua Zarca project and by saying, in a malicious manner, that the bank is a ” supporter of social assistance projects of COPINH”.

In light of the above, COPINH:

  1. Publicly denounces the actions of Camilo Atala’s FICOHSA Bank, against legislative projects in the USA in favor of human rights and justice in Honduras, as a practice of the banking mafia in Honduras that is affected by the demands of the organized Lenca people.
  2. Reiterates and denounces the involvement of the FICOHSA Bank in the financing of the Agua Zarca project of the Atala Zablah family, for which Berta Cáceres was assassinated. This is demonstrated by the scientific evidence provided in the recent trial against the convicted David Castillo.
  3. We categorically deny the affirmations of the FICOHSA Bank, through Polsinelli, about “collaborations” with our organization. COPINH will never be linked to a bank involved in serious human rights violations, acts of corruption, breaking anti-money laundering laws and financing the project that assassinated Berta Cáceres. These types of statements by representatives of Banco FICOHSA seek to confuse public opinion.
  4. We denounce once again the existence of a criminal structure that assassinated Berta Cáceres and that continues to operate to attack COPINH and its justice initiatives, to which Banco FICOHSA is connected.

Given on the 9th day of the month of July 2021 in the city of La Esperanza, Intibucá, Honduras.