Firearm attack on COPINH facilities
On 24 November 2025, the Centro de Encuentros y Amistad ‘Utopía’ (Meeting and Friendship Centre ‘Utopia’), a COPINH facility located in Intibucá, Honduras, was attacked with firearms. COPINH members were carrying out their activities in the location.
The Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Indígenas y Populares - COPINH- (Civic Council of Popular Indigenous Organisations) is an organisation established in the department of Intibucá, Honduras. They advocate for the political, social, cultural and economic recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights in Honduras, as well as for the protection of their territory. Their work focuses on campaigning for the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous communities facing mega projects that threaten their territories and displace them from their ancestral lands. Due to their work, members of the organisation have faced regular attacks and threats, including the killings of Berta Cáceres, Tomás García and Nelson García.
On 24 November 2025, the Centro de Encuentros y Amistad ‘Utopía’ (Meeting and Friendship Centre ‘Utopia’), a COPINH facility located in Intibucá, Honduras, was attacked with firearms. COPINH members were carrying out their activities in the location.
The Consejo Cívico de Organizaciones Indígenas y Populares -COPINH- (Civic Council of Popular Indigenous Organisations) is an organisation established in the department of Intibucá, Honduras. They advocate for the political, social, cultural and economic recognition of indigenous peoples’ rights in Honduras, as well as for the protection of their territory. Their work focuses on campaigning for the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous communities facing mega projects that threaten their territories and displace them from their ancestral lands. Due to their work, members of the organisation have faced regular attacks and threats, including the killings of Berta Cáceres, Tomás García and Nelson García.
On 24 November 2025, an unknown individual opened fire at the Centro de Encuentros y Amistad ‘Utopía', which forms part of the COPINH facilities in Intibucá, Honduras. The attack occurred while members of the organisation were carrying out their activities at the centre. In the past year, COPINH has also denounced smear campaigns and threats made against them. In June 2025, they reported that confidential information related to protection measures granted to its members and the family of Berta Cáceres – woman human rights defender and co-founder of COPINH killed in March 2016 – had been leaked on social media by fake accounts. This information should only be accessible to Honduran public institutions.
The most recent attack comes while Honduras prepare for the upcoming national elections on 30 November 2025, a process that has been marred by an escalating climate of threats and attacks against press freedom, freedom of expression and human rights defenders. These events are also occurring amid the ongoing state of emergency, which has been implemented since December 2022. This is despite demands made by human rights organisations to suspend it before and after the elections, in order to guarantee an appropriate climate for the democratic process. In addition, as highlighted through Front Line Defenders’ Global Analysis, Honduras is among the 10 countries globally with the highest number of killings of human rights defenders.
Front Line Defenders condemns the attack against the Civic Council of Popular Indigenous Organisations (COPINH). In particular, Front Line Defenders expresses its concern about the risk faced by the organisation while carrying out work related to information and community coverage of the electoral process.
Front Line Defenders urges the State of Honduras to:
- Conduct an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation into the attack against COPINH, as well as the smear campaigns, incitement to hatred and threats they have been subjected to, so that these acts do not go unpunished.
- Adopt all necessary measures to ensure the full protection of COPINH and its members, guaranteeing their lives and integrity.
- Guarantee an environment free from attacks against human rights defenders, and ensure that all necessary and reasonable measures are taken to protect their safety, especially in the context of the national elections.
