The first case study Pearce offers in Honduras was the one I found most disturbing. Berta Caceres an indigenous environmental activist who opposed dams, mines, and other development projects, was assassinated in her home in 2016 by armed intruders after years of threats to her life. It is believed that her murder was retaliation for her organizing against the Agua Zarca dam project on the Gualcarque River in village of Rio Blanco funded Desarrollos Energéticos SA. Associates of the energy company and special forces from the Honduran government are thought to be responsible. The idea of a government being so corrupt and beholden to private interests that they participate in the assassination of one of their own citizens is frightening and infuriating. Other activists had also faced violence, according to Pearce, including being shot at by government soldiers during protests and even attacked with a machete by pro-dam families who claim activists are hindering economic development. This situation and the situation in Israel in which soldiers callously interfere with Palestinians obtaining clean water were a saddening reminder of how commonplace state violence is around the world.
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