Honduras: Information on the 1990 assassination of a Honduran health care workers union (SITRAMEDHYS) member called Canales López, on arrests made because of his murder, on investigations carried out by the authorities and on who committed the assassination
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | HND27359.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Honduras: Information on the 1990 assassination of a Honduran health care workers union (SITRAMEDHYS) member called Canales López, on arrests made because of his murder, on investigations carried out by the authorities and on who committed the assassination, 1 August 1997, HND27359.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab3a88.html [accessed 27 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For information on the 29 August 1990 assassination of SITRAMEDHYS' local president in Comayagua, Canales López, as well as on the suspects implicated in his murder and on the absence of any investigation, please consult the document entitled Workers Rights and the New Word Order: El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala, attached to Response to Information Request HND23849.E of 14 May 1996.
The Annual Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras 1990 by the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH) corroborates the information found in the above-mentioned document in regard to López's assassination (1991, 41). The report adds that Juan Francisco Castellanos, a former army official, testified that the Comayagua regional health director, the Santa Teresa hospital director and the chief of personnel for the 2nd health region paid three assassins to kill López (ibid.). The same report states that Castellanos later reported that one of the health officials approached him to kill two other unionists, an allegation the health officials firmly denied (ibid.). López's alleged assassin was identified by police, but the report does not specify whether an arrest was made (ibid.). Please consult the attached document for additional information on López's murder.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Reference
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH). 1991. Annual Reporton the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras 1990. Tegucigalpa: Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH).
Attachment
Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH). 1991. Annual Reporton the Situation of Human Rights in Honduras 1990. Tegucigalpa: Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras (CODEH), pp. 40-41.
Additional Sources Consulted
Americas Update [Toronto]. 1996-1997.
Amnesty International Report 1997. 1997.
Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tx.]. 1996-1997.
Central America Report [Guatemala City]. 1996-1997.
DIRB Amnesty International File. "Honduras." 1990.
DIRB Country File. "Honduras." 1990.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports. 1996-1997.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1997. 1997.
Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA). February 1991. 1990 Annual Report on the Human Rights Situation in Honduras.
News from Americas Watch [New York]. 1990-1991.
On-line search of news articles (NEXIS and World Wide Web).
