for that they killed berta caceres. amy: one of berta caceres'three daughters resolved her mother's fight would continue. not beenher has killed. my mother has been planted and she is born and reborn in this, which they tried to put out today, this fire that is the struggle of the people. the only thing they did was ignite it more because they try to put out the fire with gasoline. amy: that was berta caceres's daughter speaking after her mother's death in honduras. when we come back from the break, we will be joined by berta's daughter berta zuÑiga caceres and we will be joined by lilian esperanza lopez benitez with copinh. that is the group that berta caceres founded. we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break] amy: "the house of justice." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we are talking about honduras where another indigenous environmentalist has been murdered. this less than two weeks after the killing of the renowned environmental activist berta caceres. nelson

we're going to in with the words of berta cÁceres herself. she was assassinated a year after she won the goldman environmental prize for her work protecting indigenous communities and for her environment of justice campaign against the massive dam on the states they could gualcarque river. this is berta in 2015. >> in our worldviews, we're beings who come from the earth. from the water and from corn. the lenca aren't sessional guardians of the rivers, in turn protected by the spirits of young girls who teach us that giving our lives in various ways for the protection of the rivers is giving our lives for the well-being of humanity and this planet. amy: the great environmentalist berta cÁceres receiving her goldman environmental prize in 2015. in 2016, she was assassinated in her own home in honduras. this weekend, monday, david castillo was one of those found guilty of her murder. we also want to thank suyapa portillo, honduran scholar and associate professor at pitzer college and the author of the new book "roots of resistance: a story of g

activist berta caceres. protesters are gathering to call on the u.s. to stop funding the honduran military over accusations that state security forces have been involved in human rights violations, extrajudicial killings, and the murder of environmentalists like berta caceres. before her death, berta and her organization, copinh, was long the target of repression by elite honduran security forces and paramilitary groups. only hours before she was killed, berta caceres accused the military, including the u.s.-funded special forces tigres unit, of working on behalf of international corporations. >> we haveve to understand whyy these projects are so important. the governrnment has a all of is inststitutions a at the seservif theseompanies bececause they're , because these businesses are capable of moving anti-terrorism command is like the tigres, military police, national police, security guards, hitmen, etc. amy: to talk more about honduras, we're joined by tomas gomez membreÑo, ththe new generl coordinator o

she is a long-time friend and -- of both gustavo castro soto and berta caceres. she's currently the coordinator of other worlds, a social and economic justice organization. bell is also an associate fellow at the institute for policy studies. welcome back to democracy now! what is happening right now in the wake and the floor of the berta caceres assassination? what is happening to gustavo castro soto? >> the first thing to point out, gustavo is not only the sole witness, he also was a target for assassination. he was, as you mentioned, shot twice and in the one letter he is unable to get out to a few of us, he said they tried to assassinate me and they are still trying to assassinate me. igned death after having been shot twice. the death squads, who were sent, we're certain, by the honduran government, thought that he was dead. they left. gustavo's arms. he was a mean really picked up for questioning. he is now in his fifth day of questioning will stop it reads like the worst horror movie you could ever imagine. it h been crazyhere gusvo walocked up in hrible d

this is berta caceres's daughter berta isabel zuÑiga caceres. here to renounce the lack of justice. the authorities one us to feel the case has been resolved. on the contrary, we're saying the process is full of irregularities. amy: at thursday's demonstration in tegucigalpa, police in riot gear fed tear gas at protesters who responded by hurling rocks. protesters were demanding an end to impunity for the killers of more than 150 land rights activists in the aguan valley since 2009. we'll have more on the assassination of berta caceres after headlines. in rochester, new york, vandals toppled more than a dozen headstones at a jewish cemetery thursday, defacing some of the grave markers. new york governor andrew cuomo ordered police to investigate the vandalism as a possible hate crime. it was at least the third desecration of a jewish cemetery in the u.s. over the past two weeks. at the vatican, a prominent member of a commission advising pope francis on how to end clerical sexual abuse stepped down this week to protest what she described as inaction by the church. marie collins, an

then we remember the life of berta caceres. she was assassinated this week just months after winning the goldman environmental prize, the world's leading environmental award. >> our mother earth, militarized, poisoned, a place where basic rights are systematically violated, demands that we take action. amy: we will speak with her nephew, journalist in san francisco. all of that and more coming up. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman juan gonzalez. i'm amy goodman. four republican presidential candidates faced off thursday night at the fox theater in downtown detroit. marco rubio, ted cruz and john , kasich all teamed up against frontrunner donald trump. meanwhile, outside the fox theater, hundreds of people rallied to protest the gop debate, and what they say is hateful and islamophobic rhetoric coming from the republican party. this is william antoun of the michigan muslim community council. >> we're here to protest the republican debate, the policies and things that some of the

slain indigenous and environmental leader berta caceres. in march, she was murdered in her home in la esperanza, honduras. for a decade, she led the struggle against the agua zarca dam planned along a river sacred to the lenca people. honduran authorities have charged five people in connection with her death, including a honduran army major and employees of desa, the company behind the dam.

"justicia: berta" justice for berta. a shocking new report looks at who killed berta caceres. we will get an update from "new york times google reporter elisabeth malkin in mexico city. republicans cancel a hearing with san juan mayor carmen yulin cruz who was set to testify alongside fema chief brock long today. >> we received a statement by the congressman thompson stating that the majority of the republicans for the second time in a row has canceled the with no date for it to be rescheduled. i'm just wondering, what are they afraid of? amy: than a federal judge blocked part of president terms transgender military ban. we will speak with the former trans marine who is the challenging the ban. all of that andore, coming up. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in new york city, eight people were killed and 11 more injured when a driver intentionally drove a pickup truck down a bike path along manhattan's hudson river tuesday. officials are calling it an act of terror. police say the attacker was

amy: that was berta caceres, criticizing the honduran military. only hours, berta was killed in her home by armed gunmen. earlier this month, four people were arrested in connection with her murder -- including army major mariano diaz chavez and edilson duarte meza, who is reportedly a retired captain. press accounts report diaz chavez graduated from the prestigious u.s. ranger-supported honduran special-forces course teson -- raising questions about whether u.s.-trained were involved in carrying out berta's murder, and her family continues to call for an indepennt investigation into her death. for more we're joined by annie bird. she's the director of rights and ecology, a project of the center for political ecology, which tracks the connections between economic and development policy and human rights violations. annie, welcome back to democracy now! can you talk about the latest in honduras, what you understand the homeland security secretary was doing in honduras and the latest on those arrested for caceres' murder? >> secretary johnson was vis

berta caceres was assassinated in march 2016. in november 2018, a court ruled her killing was ordered by executives of the honduran company behind the agua zarca dam, known as desa, who hired the convicted hit men to carry out the killing. at least two of the men involved in the murder were trained by u.s. military forces. berta caceres' assassination came a year after she won the goldman environmental prize for her work protecting indigenous communities and for her environmental justice campaign against the massive dam. this is berta caceres speaking in 2015. >> in our worldviews, we are beings who come from the earth, from the water, and from corn. people are ancestral guardians, in turn protected by the spirits of young girls who teach as that giving our lives in various ways for the protection of the rivers is giving our lives for the well-beieing of humanity and of this planet. amy: that was berta caceres giving her acceptance speech at the 2015 goldman environmental prize ceremony. ago, iust a few weeks had a chance to sit

and environmental leader berta caceres. berta was assassinated last year. her daughter was nearly assassinated last week. >> we did not expect the attack. we were traveling back when a vehicle blocked the road in front of us and men jumped out with machetes and threw rocks at us, trying to attack us. as we escaped, they pursued us. amy: we will speak with bertita zuniga caceres from her home in honduras. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in germany, more than 100,000 protesters flooded the streets of hamburg thursday, as leaders of the world's largest economies gathered for the g20 summit. marchers carrying banners reading "welcome to hell" and "the world is not for sale" were met by heavily armed riot police who used water cannons, teargas, and stun grenades to disperse the protests. protests resumed earlier today as demonstrators staged sit-ins at key intersections in the city in an attempt to disrupt the first day of the g20, where presid

,f people googled berta caceres in every picture she is glowing. you can just feel her presence. this tremendous heartbreak for all of us. i want to make sure people understand this is the biggest assassination since the coup. there have been hundreds of people that have been assassinated, both high state security forces and byby pririve actors and death squads, but they never touched the top leaders of the opposition. was a top leader of the opposition. in fact, when the resistance to the territories, she cap his beautiful speech welcoming everybody. one of the most beautiful speeches i have ever heard. what is going on now -- she was so internationally renowned. speaker of the house -- excuse me, ranking democrat in the house of representatives nancy pelosi gave a whole reception in her honor last year. everybody did everything they could to protect berta, and she was still assassinated. this is a clear message by the honduran elite, the honduran right, that they will kill anybody now. i want people to understand that everyone feels like they can be killed, no matter how famous

amy: had you ever met berta caceres? >> not a person. it was after we were able to go to hundreds and learn about her legacy. i cried tears that are not about sadness, but the joy that her spirit continues to live on and created strength and a lot of us women. amy: you're reading a t-shirt that says "defend the sacred." >> because everything we believe in humidityneeded is sacred. the air, the water, and the soil with which we cannot live without. common sense dictates defend the sacred. amy: who will you be marching with? >> i will be marching with my ancestors today and my three-year-old daughter ayanna. she is here not fully understanding what it is about, but it is all about her. amy: tom goldtooth, you are standing beside kandi right now. talk about your activism that has led to this day, april 29, that it looks like it promises to be one of the hottest ever and washington, d.c., history. you have been listening to some of the voices out in the streets, this by the reflecting pool. kandi mossett, well known indigenous rights leader.

>> yes, i agree with passage of the burda berta caceres -- berta caceres human rights act because e we need to have an investigation. amy: having the organization of american states, the oes alarm observation mission, said the tight margi -- president zelaya, what is your response to the former bolivian president? look, he is a mafrom the far right. of the cia. few works with them. he informs them. of as vice president dictator in bolivia. in bolivia, he appears to be critical of the system. here he has come to defend a dictator. a traitor forever. amy: in "the wall street journal," there was a opinion doingthat said you are the bidding of venezuela, president zelaya. it is also what the pr firms in washington that represent the honduran right are trying to say. what is your response to them? >> i did not know the venezuelans until i became president of honduras and i met hugo chavez. my record as a citizen is well known throughout my entire life in honduras. i am a democratic minded man. i am a pacifist. i don't use weapons. plus, i have a clean record throughout my life. my private l

we have the berta caceres, which we are pushing forward right now. we would like to see that phil enacted. if enacted, it would suspend aid until it can be certified that the rights of folks have not -- are no longer being trampled upon as they try to seek a more democratic honduduras. image of congressman keith ellison, thank you for being with us, recently back from honduras, long concerned about the situation there. when we come back from break, we will be joined by hundred human rights activist zenaida velasquez, one of the founders of the founders of the committee of relatives of the disappeared in honduras, lost her sister. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: honduran musician karla lara performing here on our democracy now! studio. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. as we continue on the crisis in honduras, where tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets sunday two to announce the alleged election fraud and to support opposition presidential candidate salvador nasralla. last week

and i repeat it again, taking the life of berta caceres is a hit on the honduran state. amy: the suspects have been identified as sergio rodriguez orellana, a manager for social and environmental issues for desa douglas geovanny bustillo , who had worked for a security firm hired by the dam project. the other two are reportedly an army major and retired captain. berta caceres' family has called for an independent investigation, saying they have been excluded from the honduran government's probe. in a statement, the family said -- "because we have been denied our right under honduran law to participate in the investigative process from the beginning, we have no way of knowing if these arrests are the product of an exhaustive and diligent investigation, nor do we know if they include those who ordered the assassination. the news of the alleged participation of active and retired members of the military linked to desa in the assassination should be investigated further and indicates involvement by state agents which is enough reason for the immediate suspension of and a def

reporter: berta caceres faces constant death threats. she and her family are members of the indigenous lenca community in honduras. they live along a river which is sacred to their people. in 2006, work began here to build a hydroelectric dam. it would have cut off the water supply to the lenca community and the land they live off. caceres organized peaceful protests. security forces turned out in force. the dam had wealthy international investors and the government was determined to push ahead. the protesters refused to be intimidated. they set up roadblocks to stop the work proceeding. some were detained and tortured. finally, one community leader was shot and killed. only then did some of the international funders pull out signaling the end of the dam. a victory for berta caceres, but one that came at a high price. she is one of today's recipients for the goldman prize. another is phyllis omido halfway around the world in kenya. when her son was just a baby she discovered that her own breast milk was making him sick. the reason -- lea

amy: that was honduran environmental activist berta caceres speaking in 2014. she was murdered last week in her home in la esperanza in honduras. last year, she won the goldman environmental prize. leading environmentalist in the world. >> and she criticizes hillary clinton's choices where clinton was holding up her actions in honduras as an example of a clear i pregnant is a. that book is effectively a confession. every other country in the world or latin america was demanding restitution of democracy and the return of manuel zelaya. it was clinton who bary -- bacally regated th to secondary concern. creating the nightmare scenario that exists today. it is also in her e-mails. the real scandal about the e-mails is not the question about process. she wanted to create off the books communication that cannot be foia'ed. the real scandal is the content of those e-mails. she talks about the process by which he works to legitimate the elections, which caceres talks about they took place under extreme village rest conditions, fraudulent, sick leave of democracy. they

all of these delays, unfortunately, have been part -- in the ce of berta cÁceres. the family has strgled for many years and cononted many threats, attks, violence, arbitrary detention. her daughters were detained a couple of days before the trial started this week. impunity remains the norm. whe the auorities are not providing protections for those -- because of the human rights they are doing. those who are fighting the right to land and access to territors protecng the envinment ar the onewho are faci even more violence. government is not protecting the man rights defenders. we are -- [discnible] [indiscernible] amy: can you talk about how this country, the united states, sees migration and why people are making noise to the border, so desperate, refugees, to lead countries that they love? people are fleeing violence and poverty and the effects of the climate crisis. not only the united states, but several governments areenying the rights of asylum and people to seek protecon. with the particular early on in the context of the pandemic how migrts have been detain

the berta caceres hearing comes as afro-indigenous garifuna community in honduras demands the safe return of five garifuna land defenders and a member who was kidnapped last month in the caribbean coastal town of triunfo de la cruz. witnesses say the abductors wore police uniforms and forced them into three unmarked vehicles at gunpoint. among the abducted men was 27-year-old alberth snider centeno, president of the triunfo de la cruz community board member of the group black , a fraternal organization of honduras. this is centeno in a recent video testimony prior r to his forced d disappearan. we have witnessed people bebeing killed. we are being criminalized having rightful owners of this rich territory. amy: and this is garifuna leader miriam miranda, the executive director of the black fraternal organization of honduras, speaking to democracy now! from her home in honduras last month. >>>> what happened is a a reflen of systemic persecution. systemic repression but t also a well-crafted b blend to extetene garifuna commumunity. it i is important underststand s pressure i is suppressio

the pact was signed only days after the two-year anniversary of berta caceres' assassination. meanwhile, in more news from honduras, activist edwin espinal has launched a hunger strike to protest his ongoing imprisonment after he was arrested for protesting against the reelection of the u.s.-backed, right-wing president juan orlando hernandez. the organization of american states says the november election was marred by widespread election fraud. espinal has been jailed for nearly two months. sri lanka has declared a state of emergency amid violence against the muslim community in sri lanka. in recent days, members of sri lanka's buddhist majority have torched mosques, homes, and businesses owned by muslims. the state of emergency is the first to be declared since sri lanka's civil war ended in 2009. this is the president of sri lanka. >> i condemn all of the violent incidents that have taken place, not only do i condemn the violence, have also instructed the police to take maximum action against individuals, organizations, and/or groups involved in those violent acts. amy: in

just one year ago, they assassinated berta caceres. they went to assassinate her and the dust it indicates the masterminds of this crime are being protected by the state. nonetheless, the s state department comes out with these things. the ststate department i is a vy political organization. they protect the dictators who are their friends. nonethelesess, in honduras it hs been clear, well, in the last six months, t there has notot bn an ambassadoof the uninited states. the ambabassador of the ununited statates is likike a governor. it i is like a s sta that is unr the dollar. we find d it shameful that state department is so indifferent to the honduran people who are suffering. there have been 12 assassinations in the last 48 hours. we're under a state of siege. they have declared a state of siege against the protest. there catching the votes under a state of siege with color present state i in honduras. -- highly reprpressive s state n hondurasas. amy: what is the united states doing behind the scenes, prpresident zelayaya? >> they w