By the National Apostolic Council of the Society of Jesus in Honduras
Last week in Honduras, gunmen killed 25 people, including six police officers, in two separate attacks. The deadlier of the two claimed the lives of 19 peasant labourers at an oil palm plantation in Rigores, in the Lower Aguán region in the Colón Department.
As Development and Peace ― Caritas Canada’s recent Stand for the Land campaign highlighted, rural communities in Honduras often face violence and intimidation not only from lawless tycoons but also local authorities. The complicity of politicians many abuses is evinced by the arrest of a former mayor for the murder Catholic environmental activist Juan López, whose killing was one of the tragic milestones in the timeline of events mentioned in our campaign.
This statement, issued by the Jesuits of Honduras in Spanish, condemns the latest massacre and calls for an international inquiry into the incident. It has been reproduced here in translation with their permission.
Rigores: urgent need for an international commission to provide effective protection and support to at-risk peasant families, communities and organizations in the Lower Aguán
The National Council of the Society of Jesus in Honduras expresses its outrage and condemnation of the massacre of peasants that took place on May 21 in Rigores, in the municipality of Trujillo, Colón, and stands in solidarity with the families and communities of the victims.
- The Lower Aguán region and, more broadly, the Department of Colón, have for years been plagued by a painful history of agrarian conflict, militarization, threats, and criminal and organized violence, which has led to displacement and murders. In this context, the Rigores massacre cannot be investigated with the superficiality with which crimes against peasants and their communities have so often been addressed. The Episcopal Conference of Honduras puts it well: “As pastors of the Church and members of this society, we cannot accept superficial justifications for such horrendous acts, which have left so many innocent families bloodied and in mourning.”
- When men, women, adolescents and young people in rural areas are killed under circumstances that point to structural, organized and sustained violence, it jeopardizes not only the lives of the direct victims, but also the rule of law, public trust in institutions, and the right of rural communities to live, to work and to claim land, dignity and protection without fear of persecution or extermination.
- It is not enough for the authorities to say they are investigating, when recent history shows that far too many cases end in silence, manipulation or neglect. For this reason, we propose and demand that the Honduran government establish an international inquiry commission under the aegis of the United Nations, with the participation of local and national stakeholders—one that is independent, technical, credible and fully guaranteed—to clarify this massacre and determine the corresponding responsibilities and sanctions. Such a commission is necessary because the magnitude of the crime and the pattern of violence in the region exceed the capacity—and the will—of national authorities to provide reliable answers.
- We also demand effective protection and support for the families, communities, and peasant organizations at risk in the Lower Aguán region; the dismantling of illegal armed groups and criminal networks operating in the area; an end to all forms of tolerance, complicity, or collusion between state agents and violent irregular actors; and the adoption of comprehensive measures to address agrarian conflicts in a just, legal and sustainable manner, addressing their historical and structural causes.
- To remain silent about Rigores would be to allow peasant blood to continue being treated as expendable. We cannot speak of peace while rural communities remain exposed to lethal violence. We cannot demand trust in institutions when impunity has, all too often, been the response to the murder of those struggling to survive in the countryside.
- With our prayers of solidarity and commitment, we also urge Honduran society, the churches, human rights organizations, the international community and all sectors committed to peace not to remain silent in the face of this new atrocity.
National Apostolic Council of the Society of Jesus in Honduras
Yoro, Honduras, May 22, 2026