A top-ranked executive of a hydroelectric company was arrested Friday on charges of helping plan the murder of Honduran indigenous environmental activist Berta Caceres two years ago, said Honduran authority.
Roberto David Castillo, executive president of Desarrollos Energeticos (DESA), was arrested at an airport in the north of the country, Honduran prosecutors said.
DESA had been pushing for the construction of a dam that was opposed by Caceres, according to a Reuters report.
Castillo “was in charge of providing logistics and other resources to one of the perpetrators already prosecuted for the crime,” Public Ministry spokesman Juri Mora said.
Castillo or his lawyers could not be contacted immediately.
In a statement, DESA denied involvement in the crime and said Castillo is “innocent,” adding that it “rejects this decision that comes from international pressure and smear campaigns of various NGOs on the company.”
Caceres, a 43-year-old teacher who won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize, was shot dead at her residence on the night of March 2, 2016.
Castillo is the second alleged mastermind captured for her murder. Eight other people, including company employees, hired assassins and members of the army, have been arrested and tried.
Honduras has seen repeated confrontations between indigenous populations with mining and hydroelectric operations.
President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who won re-election in December in a vote marred by fraud allegations, has sought to boost investment in such ventures.
Members of the activist group that Caceres led gathered Friday in front of prosecutors’ offices in the capital to demand the arrest of more prominent local businessmen they allege are connected to the crime.
