cÁceres, a lenca land and water defender. david castillo, the former president of the hydroelectric corporation desa. cÁceres was assassinated as she led the fight against the construction of desa's massive hydroelectric dam on a river in southwestern honduras that's sacred to the lenca people. newly released surveillance camera footage from inside the robb elementary school in uvalde, texas, has shed new light on the police response to last month's mass shooting at the school that killed 19 fourth graders and two of their teachers. new video shows heavily armed officers were inside the school and had at least one ballistic shield just minutes after the gunman entered the school. but officers didn't enter the classroom for another 58 minutes. it has also emerged that a uvalde police officer had a chance to shoot the gunman before he entered the school, but the officer declined to take the shot fearing he could accidentally hit someone else. some 17 million children in e united states are now eligible to receive covid vaccine

cÁceres and other murdered land and water defenders, and said her government will not continue to loot honduras. >> poverty increased by 74% to make us the poorest country and it latin america. this figure by itself explains the migrant caravan of thousands of people who flee to the north, mexico, and the united states looking for a place and a way to subsist regardless of the risk it applies to our lives. amy: castro's presidency marks the end of a brutal 12-year regime by the u.s.-backed right-wing national party, which first came to power after the 2009 u.s.-backed coup that overthrew castro's husband, president manuel zelaya. this comes as many are demanding outgoing honduran president juan orlando hernÁndez be indicted and extradited to the united states to face charges of aiding drug traffickers. like his brother. in japan, six people who developed thyroid cancer in the aftermath of the 2011 fukushima nuclear meltdown have filed a landmark lawsuit against the tokyo electric power company. the plaintiffs were aged from six to 16 at the time of the devastating earthquake and tsuna

this is berta cÁceres speaking in 2015 after being awarded the prestigious goldman environmtal prize for her work protecting indigenous communities and for her environmental justice campaign against that massive dam on the sacred gualcarque river in honduras. she was assassinated inside her home in la esperanza, honduras, about a year later. >> in our worldviews, we are beings sue come from the earth, from the water. i people are concessional guardians of the rivers, in turn protected by the spirits of young girls to 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 of this planet. amy: in 2019, we spoke to one of berta cÁceres's daughters, laura zÚÑiga cÁceres, while democracy now! was in madrid covering cop25. laura was there to receive a human rights award and to speak at the social summit for the climate, an alternative climate summit hosted by activists. i asked her about the risks indigenous women face in honduras as they fight to protect the earth. >> just the land and air turn tory is vio

caceres is the daughter of the assassinated honduran human rights defender berta caceres. she is also a member of the libre party. donald trump has paid tribute to ashli babbitt, the 35-year-old trump supporter who was shot dead inside the capitol during during the january 6th insurrection. babbit was shot by a capitol police officer as she tried to climb through a window to the speakers' lobby, where lawmakers had sought refuge from the violent mob. babbit was an air force veteran and supporter of the pro-trump qanon conspiracy theory. in a pre-recorded video message to mark what would have been her birthday, trump called babbitt a "truly incredible person." in sports news, the head coach of the las vegas raiders football team jon gruden has resigned after an nfl investigation uncovered a series of racist, sexist, and homophobic emails he had written prior to becoming the coach of the raiders. in one email, gruden used racist terms to attack the head of the nfl players union, demaurice smith, who is black. gruden was the third highest paid coach in the nfl, earning $10 mi

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

caceres, who was gunned out in her home. how minds and dams have made the region were deadly for those who are fighting to save the planet? >> it is tragic what is happening around the world but especially in central america. it ione of the most dangerous to be an environmental activist but an issue we have to confront , particularly because they are fighting for land and water. and because of that, we want to call attention to the impacts of climate migration and the fact climate change is happening. on mitigation is needed, there is already a level of warming. even if we were to stop emissions today or tomorrow, there is already impacts being felt and will be continue to be felt around the region. in terms of u.s. policy, books and articles and much history has documented how use intervention, particularly in the last decade, the 1960's, 19 70's, 1980's, the way we destabilize government supported coups across the region -- again, other foreign-policy measures that have read,. we are not saying clate change is the only fac

all of these dels, unfortunately, have been part -- in the ce of berta cÁceres. the family has strgled for many years and cfronted many threats, attacks, violence, arbitrary detention. her daughters were detained a couple of days before the trial started this week. impunity remains the norm. ere the thorities ar not providing protections for those -- because of the human rights they are doing. those who are fighting the right to land and access to terrories protecting the vironment e the ones who e faci even more violence. government is not protecting the human rights defenders. we are -- [indiscernible] [indiscernle] 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

amy: to see our coverage of berta caceres' life and death and our 2019 interview with her daughter laura zÚniga cÁceres, at the u.n. climate summit in madrid, visit our website democracynow.org. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. the senate voted thursday to open debate on president biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. the final vote was 51 to 50 with vice president kamala harris breaking the tie after every republican senator voted against advancing the legislation. democrats are hoping to pass the bill before march 14, when extended unemployment benefits run out. the legislation has widespread support from voters. one new poll shows 77% o americans support the bill, including nearly 60% of republicans. but senate republicans are attempting to slow the process to a crawl. thursday, wisconsin republican senator ron johnson forced senate clerks to read the entire text of the stimulus bill aloud -- more than 100,000 words filling 628 pages. the house has already approved a $1.9 trillion relie

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

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

this is berta caceres' daughter bertha zuniga caceres speaking outside the court in tegucigalpa. >> the road to justice does not end here for us because impunity will not end with the sentence for the main perpetrators of the crime. we continue to demand justice, including all people involved in this crime to be tried and put away. amy: honduras is one of the most dangerers countrieies in the wod for environmental activists and land protectors, with at least 24 environmental leaders killed since march 2015. in more news from honduras, tv host jose arita was murdered last week in the northern coastal city of puerto cortes. shortly after the broadcast of his nightly political show "the hour of truth," four unidentified individuals in a car shot at arita outside a convenience store, killing him instantly. their motives are unknown. the honduran college of journalists says that over 80 journalists have been killed in honduras since 2001 and at least eight in 2019 alone. their murders, many of them, are unsolved. in guatemala, another former top militaryfffficiawillll btriedd for genodede an

. >> los 4 asesinatos de berta cÁceres han sido condenados a 50 aÑos, otros tres implicados fueron sentenciados a 30 aÑos, la familia venÍa esperando ese dÍa desde que su cuerpo sin vida apareciÓ en una vivienda despuÉs de meses de recibir amenazas por su trabajo, sin embargo, la hija de cÁceres asegura que los verdaderos culpables estÁn libres. >> hay condenas pero no hay justicia y no hay justicia precisamente porque los autores intelectuales de este asesinato siguen gozando de impunidad, aÚn no estÁn en la carcel las personas que diseÑaron y ejecutaron este asesinato. >> entre los sentenciados hay un exmilitar y un exempleado de una empresa de energÍa. >> el presidente donald trump se dejÓ oÍr hoy al inicio de la cumbre de la otan en londres, se mostrÓ molesto con el presidente de francia, emmanuel macron quien en un comentario anterior opinÓ que la alianza atlÁntica cruza una crisis que la hace aparentar un estado de muerte cerebral donald trump dijo que siguen paÍs del mundo es precisamente francia en referencia a los hechos unda ndial. nancy pelos anunciÓ que estados uni

. -- false expororted positives where many opposition leaders such as berta caceres, or anotherone, --son who was succeeded asphyxiated by the gases. there is no way to describe these crimes over the last 10 years other than by calling them crimes against humanity. this country should be brought before the international what u.s.ourt because policy is doing is supporting genocide in honduras and in central america. i wantresident zelaya, to ask about the role of mexico. because many expected that when lopez obrador won the presidency in mexico, mexico would develop a more humane policy toward the refugees coming across its borders. the is your assessment of first year or first several presidency in's relationship to your country a d your situation? look, lopez obrador, i consider him to be a profoundly values that are in line with great moral for the region and for mexico and for central america. positiond a very clear , vis-a-vis the united states. i believe mr. trump's pressures against mexico are serious. when they threaten to impose ,ariffs on mexican merchandise well, that produc

caceres. borjas wasas formerly a high-ranking official in the honduran police force. human rights groups have condemned the case and the 'chilling effect' of such lawsuits. the honduran 'committee for freedom of expression' said tuesday's verdict poses 'a grave threat to democracy'. in brazil, police arrested 5 people over the devastating dam collapse in minas gerais last week that killed at least 65 people, with nearly 300 still missing. 3 of those arrested work for vale, the mining company that owned and operated the dam. the other 2 worked for a german company that carried out inspections on the dam last year. the news comes as families of the victims have started holding funerals for the deceased. residents and workers are demanding justice for what they say was a preventable disaster. meanwhile, local indigenous communities are decrying thehe environmental effects of the dam breach, which dumped millions of tons of iron ore wastete onto te land and into waterways. >> we lost the equilibri

famous leader berta caceres was killed in 2016. indigenousforcing people off their land at the point of a gun. the only sectors are agriculture and the sector that is electronics factory for the export market. those are very, very destructive of people's bodies and really repressive working conditions. when we hear about economic development in honduras it is accelerating more this destruction, along with a gang activity that is destroying small businesses because it is not viable to have a small business. i know a lot of small business people, people that have been killed if they did not pay the taxes or reported it to the police. there are no other options here. the other piece of this is those who are trying to have an alternative economic future. these are the people that are getting tear gassed. these are the people getting assassinated. report onlists that this alternative divivision than the people who like some can of democratic alternative. these people are being rerepressed. that is the other piece of this. juan: i want t

in honduras, a court has removed lawyers representing the slain environmentalist berta caceres from the trial of eight men accused of carrying out her murder. the victim's lawyers had called for the three judges trying the case to be replaced, accusing them of bias, abuse of authority, and of violating due process by prohibiting evidence. but on friday, the judges rejected the motion and instead ordered caceres's lawyers removed from court proceedings. caceres won the 2015 goldman environmental prize for her work protecting indigenous communities before she was assassinated in 2016 as she led a campaign against a massive hydroelectric dam project. back in the united states, u.s. depth whole from hurricane michael has risen to s somewhere between 36 and 399 as recovevery workrkers took to crowd sosourcg on to socialal media siteses inn efeffort to reunite about 300 people still reported missing or unaccounted for or reported missing. meanwhile, the air force has acknowledged that some of its f-22 stealth fighter jets were damaged or destroyed as hurricane michael ripped through tyndall a

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, membmbers 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 i individuals, organizations, and/or groups involved in those violent acts. amy:

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

>> 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

a caceres. we're going to continue the fight and say no, this is not a great guy as john kelly calls him. this is someoeone who is tryingo escalate collapsed democracy and take over that country in a very autocratic way. juan: i'm wondering, sarah kinosian, can you talk about the opposition? this was an alliance of political parties to the current president that are b backing nasralla. can you talk about that coalition? >> yeah. in the simplest form, salvador , thella has had a party anticorruption party. he has paired with mel zelaya of the liberte party. together.d what i am hearing is that alliance, while it did give salvador nasralla the support he needed to get this far with this support, it also presented problems because a lot of people are not distinguishing between nasralla and mel zelaya. so what you will hear from a lot of hernandez supporters is, one, we are going to have -- either orlando, they're one a try to stay in power because of 2009. or you hear this repeated line that the he

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

"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 m marine who is the challenging the ban. all of that and more, 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 manhahattan's hudson river tuesday. officials are calling it an act of terror. police say the attacke

and environmental leader berta caceres. berta was assassinated last year. her daughter was nearly assassinateded last week. >> we didid not expectct the at. we were travelingng back when a vehicle blocked thehe road d in front of us andnd men jumped out with machetes and threw rockckst 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 inin an attempt to disisrupt the first day of the g20

. ♪ [music break] amy: attribute to berta caceres. berta caceres them at the indigenous environmental leader who was murdered in honduras. her daughter bertita zuniga caceres was just the victim of an assassination attack. you can go online at democracynow.org to see our conversation with her from her home in honduras. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace rereport. i'm amy goodman with nermeen shaikh. nermeen: we turn now to the look at the crisis in syria one day ahead of president trump's meeting with russian president vladimir putin in hamburg. their meeting comes as thousands of syrians continued to flee raqqa as u.s.-backed militias intensify their assault on the isis-held city. some 200,000 people have been displaced from raqqa, with more expected to flee as fighting intensifies. u.s.-led airstrikes have killed hundreds of residents, in what u.n. investigators have called a staggering loss of civilian life. reports say as m many as 50 airstrikes were hitting rock that each day. u.s. backed forces expect th