Stop the dispossession of land and the violence against Caribbean environmental defenders
El CLACSO Working Group Political ecologies from the South/Abya-Yala It calls for an end to land dispossession and violence against Caribbean environmental defenders.
The advance of land grabbing in the Caribbean and Latin America is alarming. Particularly in the Caribbean region, intense processes of land concentration and foreign ownership have been recorded (FAO, 2011), as well as various forms of dispossession of marine and coastal territories (Marquez, 2019). The surface and maritime lands of the insular Caribbean have been systematically colonized, expropriated, and sold to the highest bidder, depriving the island, Raizal, Afro-Colombian, and Palenquero populations of their rights to housing, land, and food sovereignty. In light of this situation, we publicly denounce the deplorable situation of enclosure that island communities are experiencing. In this case, we highlight the specific cases of the Garifuna people on the Caribbean coasts of Central America and the Vieques people on the island of Vieques in the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and we demand that international, national, and local authorities urgently guarantee the rights of these communities.
On May 28, 2023, Martín Morales Martínez, a human rights defender and leader of the Garifuna community of Triunfo de la Cruz in Honduras, was found dead after being reported missing by his family. Martín was a member of the Committee for the Defense of the Land and the Commission for the Implementation of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' ruling in favor of the Garifuna Community of Triunfo de la Cruz for human rights violations and violations of the community's collective property rights. Similarly, other Garifuna territories recovered by the Honduran Black Fraternal Organization, such as Wagaira Le in Punta Gorda on the island of Roatán, are constantly and violently besieged by special interest groups. Honduras is one of the most dangerous countries for land defenders, where high levels of corruption, transnational capital interests, and violations of fundamental rights ensure that these crimes remain unpunished (Trucchi, 2017).
On July 6, 2023, the municipality of Vieques, Puerto Rico, attempted to auction ten plots of land with prices ranging from $39,215 to $139,140. The auction required a 10% deposit and gave bidders 30 days to complete the payment. It should be noted that the community was informed of the event only two weeks in advance. These prices and conditions were virtually impossible for most Vieques residents to meet, thus excluding those who already lack land. Furthermore, this auction paved the way for the planned displacement of Vieques residents and the influx of capital intended to monopolize the land and build a paradise island for billionaires.
While Vieques families risk everything to remain on the island, occupying land, building community, and facing criminalization by the state, a lack of housing, and inadequate basic services, all to secure their land rights, the municipality has continued to turn its back on them, selling off land and condemning the community to a life of servitude and overcrowding. In response to this reality, La Colmena Cimarrona, the Vieques Women's Alliance, the Vieques Historical Archive, and Vidas Viequenses Vale organized a demonstration to stop the land sales. During the demonstration, several women were subjected to violence and assault by the police, intimidated, and have begun a process of criminalization.
We stand in solidarity with the right of the Garifuna and Vieques peoples to lands that were seized by colonial empires and later by large transnational corporations in the case of the Caribbean coast of Honduras, and during violent evictions by the United States Navy in the case of the island of Vieques, and which are now being sold to the highest bidder. We support their right to remain in their territories with the courage and resolve of peoples seeking to build a future for those who come after them. We vehemently condemn the violent acts of the police, the sale of inaccessible lands, the criminalization of leaders, and the dispossession suffered by Caribbean communities.
Bieké is and always will be for the people of Vieques!
Compliance with the IACHR ruling in the Garifuna Punta Piedra and Triunfo de la Cruz case, now!
July 10, 2023
CLACSO Working Group
Political ecologies from the South/Abya-Yala
Highlighted
FAO (2011) Borras, S., Franco, JC, Kay, C., & Spoor, M. (2011). Land grabbing in Latin America and the Caribbean. Seen from a broader international perspective. October.
Márquez Pérez, AI (2019). Land grabbing of marine and coastal territories: two case studies in the Colombian Caribbean. Colombian Journal of Anthropology, 55
Trucchi, G. (2017). Plunder of Garifuna territories in Honduras. Impacts of extractivism and tourism expansion. Barcelona: Alba Sud Editorial.
This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.
