African palm oil

GUATEMALA CITY – An indigenous leader opposed to the production of palm oil was killed Friday outside a Guatemalan court that a day earlier ordered the closure of a factory against which he had led protests.

A major river in Guatemala’s northern region has been contaminated by pesticides used to produce African palm oil, affecting thousands of people.

This Sunday, Hondurans will mark the 6th anniversary of a military coup that catapulted the Central American nation into becoming the region’s murder capital – with targeted killings of journalists, political activists and labor leaders rising to unprecedented levels. One of the alleged orchestrators of that coup, Miguel Facussé Barjum, died late this past Monday night of causes not yet disclosed.