Who Killed Berta Cáceres? : Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet

A deeply affecting–and infuriating–portrait of the life and death of a courageous indigenous leader The first time Honduran indigenous leader Berta Cáceres met the journalist Nina Lakhani, Cáceres said, ‘The army has an assassination list with my name at the top. I want to live, but in this country there is total impunity. When they want to kill me, they will do it.’ In 2015, Cáceres won the Goldman Prize, the world’s most prestigious environmental award, for leading a campaign to stop construction of an internationally funded hydroelectric dam on a river sacred to her Lenca people. Less than a year later she was dead. Lakhani tracked Cáceres remarkable career, in which the defender doggedly pursued her work in the face of years of threats and while friends and colleagues in Honduras were exiled and killed defending basic rights. Lakhani herself endured intimidation and harassment as she investigated the murder. She was the only foreign journalist to attend the 2018 trial of Cáceres’s killers, where state security officials, employees of the dam company and hired hitmen were found guilty of murder. Many questions about who ordered and paid for the killing remain unanswered. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews, confidential legal filings, and corporate documents unearthed after years of reporting in Honduras, Lakhani paints an intimate portrait of an extraordinary woman in a state beholden to corporate powers, organised crime, and the United States. A deeply affecting'and infuriating'portrait of the life and death of a courageous indigenous leader The first time Honduran indigenous leader Berta CAceres met the journalist Nina Lakhani, CAceres said, 'The army has an assassination list with my name at the top. I want to live, but in this country there is total impunity. When they want to kill me, they will do it.' In 2015, CAceres won the Goldman Prize, the world's most prestigious environmental award, for leading a campaign to stop construction of an internationally funded hydroelectric dam on a river sacred to her Lenca people. Less than a year later she was dead. Lakhani tracked CAceres remarkable career, in which the defender doggedly pursued her work in the face of years of threats and while friends and colleagues in Honduras were exiled and killed defending basic rights. Lakhani herself endured intimidation and harassment as she investigated the murder. She was the only foreign journalist to attend the 2018 trial of CAceres's killers, where state security officials, employees of the dam company and hired hitmen were found guilty of murder. Many questions about who ordered and paid for the killing remain unanswered. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews, confidential legal filings, and corporate documents unearthed after years of reporting in Honduras, Lakhani paints an intimate portrait of an extraordinary woman in a state beholden to corporate powers, organised crime, and the United States The very first time Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres met the writer Nina Lakhani, Caceres said,'The army has an assassination list with my name at the top. I want to live, but in this country there is total impunity. When they want to kill me, they will do it.'In 2015, Caceres won the Goldman prize, the world's leading environmental award, for her leadership of indigenous organizations against illegal logging and the construction of four giant dams. The next year she was murdered. Lakhani tracked Caceres's remarkable career in the face of years of threats--two fellow environmental campaigners were killed before her--and the journalist also endured threats and harassment herself. She was the only foreign journalist to attend the 2018 trial of Caceres's killers, where security officials of the dam builders were found guilty of planning her death. Many questions about who ordered the killing remain. Drawing on years of familiarity with Caceres, her family, and her movement, as well as interviews with company and government officials, Lakhani paints an intimate portrait of a remarkable woman as well as a state beholden to both corporate control and US power. The very first time Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres met the writer Nina Lakhani, Caceres said, "The army has an assassination list with my name at the top. I want to live, but in this country there is total impunity. When they want to kill me, they will do it." In 2015, Caceres won the Goldman prize, the world's leading environmental award, for her leadership of indigenous organizations against illegal logging and the construction of four giant dams. The next year she was murdered. Lakhani tracked Caceres's remarkable career in the face of years of threats—two fellow environmental campaigners were killed before her—and the journalist also endured threats and harassment herself. She was the only foreign journalist to attend the 2018 trial of Caceres's killers, where security officials of the dam builders were found guilty of planning her death. Many questions about who ordered the killing remain. Drawing on years of familiarity with Caceres, her family, and her movement, as well as interviews with company and government officials, Lakhani paints an intimate portrait of a remarkable woman as well as a state beholden to both corporate control and US power. "In 2015, Cáceres won the Goldman prize, the world's leading environmental award, for leading a campaign to stop construction of an internationally funded dam on a river sacred to her indigenous Lenca people . Less than a year later she was dead. Lakhani tracked Cáceres's remarkable career in the face of years of threats as friends and colleagues in Honduras were killed defending basic rights; the journalist endured threats and harassment herself as a result of investigating the murder. She was the only foreign journalist to attend the 2018 trial of Cáceres's killers, where state security officials, employees of the dam company and hired hitmen were found guilty of her murder. Many questions about who ordered and paid for the killing remain unanswered. Drawing on more than a hundred interviews, confidential legal filings, and company documents during years of reporting in Honduras, Lakhani paints an intimate portrait of an extraordinary woman in a state beholden to corporate powers, organised crime, and the United States"-- Provided by publisher