Our cross-border solidarity with Garifuna!

Garifuna community defend Indigenous land rights against armed confrontation in San Juan, Honduras

DANGRIGA, Stann Creek District, Thurs. July 16, 2026

   Tensions remain high across the Garifuna community, after drumbeats echoed, voices blended, and flags of freedom waved in a series of peaceful demonstrations in front of the United Nations in New York, USA, on July 10; the Honduras Embassy in Belize City, Belize, on July 14; and the CA-13 highway in Tela, Honduras, on July 15, 2026. In a show of solidarity for the protection of Garifuna Indigenous land rights, Garinagu across borders have mounted a vociferous outcry and resolute resistance against what community leaders contend is yet another attempt to dispossess Garifuna people of their ancestral lands—this time, using heavily armed police, a court order, and the force of a recently passed law to evict community members of San Juan as well as nearby Tornabé along the Atlantic coast of Honduras.

   “The escalation is frightening, because you have these special interest groups who now have security apparatus who are well trained, and obviously them against a civilian population without the proper defense is a recipe for disaster,” said Alex Nolberto, president of the National Garifuna Council (NGC), which organized Tuesday’s peaceful demonstration in Belize City.

   Nolberto said that they need to get the attention of the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), to step in and to compel the Government of Honduras to abide by the court’s rulings and to respect the human rights of the Garinagu.

   “One of the things that concerns me the most is that people refuse to make the connection between what’s going on in Honduras and the probability of that occurring in Belize,” Nolberto said, adding that “it’s the same colonial laws that govern us, and it’s the same capitalist system that brought us to this point—and in this era of neo-colonization, anything is possible.”

   He said that the Garifuna community will not be letting down its guard. He added that “we will not take it for granted that the government and the laws will save us … We are seeing it with Hopkins and Sittee; we are seeing it with Seine Bight and Placencia; we are seeing it where the Mayas had to go to court to protect their spaces.”

   The recent developments have sparked grave concerns, as they remind the Garifuna people and the world of the San Juan massacre of 12th March 1937, when at least a dozen Garinagu were executed, forcing survivors to flee—some of them to places like Hopkins in Southern Belize. However, the deeper roots of Garifuna dispossession go back to Yurumein (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), where in 1797 the colonial powers dispossessed the entire Garifuna community (descendants of escaped African slaves and indigenous ancestors of the Americas), transporting them under cruel conditions to Roatán off the coast of Honduras, where the survivors of that perilous voyage were forced to settle. The presence of the Garinagu—for 229 years—along the Atlantic coast of Honduras, and later Belize, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and the Diaspora, is a reality that emerges from this painful past.

   NGC Assistant Treasurer, Ifáşínà Efunyemi reiterated the call for the government of Honduras to respect the Indigenous land rights of the Garifuna people. She said that the advocacy will be taken to the international community, in collaboration with other members of the Garifuna community, with further appeals at the level of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. She noted that we are now celebrating the Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025 to 2034), as well as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022 to 2032). She reiterated the value of ancestral lands to the very existence of the Garinagu, and underscored that historically, Indigenous people have taken great care of those very lands that are now being targeted for capitalist ventures.

   In a statement issued on June 29, 2026, Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH), led by Coordinator – Miriam Miranda, said that Honduras’ new Law on Agroindustry, Energy, and Tourism, passed earlier that month and published in the Honduras Gazette as Decree No. 107-2026, institutionalizes the criminalization of land defense, and creates a legal framework for dispossessing Indigenous and Black communities of their ancestral lands for the benefit of private interests. It argued that the most serious aspect of this law is its presumption that any claim related to land or territory constitutes an invasion, and that defenders are criminals. OFRANEH demands the repeal of the law, which it said is unconstitutional.

   The organization asserts that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has consistently developed a solid body of jurisprudence, pointing to cases involving Triunfo de la Cruz, Punta Piedra, San Juan, and Cayos Cochinos—all in Honduras. It also noted the Court’s stance on the obligation to recognize and protect the collective property of Indigenous and tribal peoples; guarantee prior, free, and informed consultation before adopting measures that could affect their territories; and ensure effective judicial remedies that allow for the resolution of conflicts with full respect for due process.

   On July 6, a day after the incident in San Juan, OFRANEH publicly objected to the use of the new law to evict Garifuna people from ancestral land, using heavily armed police. Reports indicated that the eviction was pursuant to an order granted in favor of the Rosenthal family.

   “We demand that the National Police leave the community of San Juan tonight and immediately release our detained comrades,” OFRANEH said.

   At least five people were detained, and reports released yesterday indicated that their case was moved from San Juan de Tela to San Pedro Sula on the claim that the persons held were involved in “organized crime.”

   OFRANEH issued another press release on Wednesday, July 15, in which it called for definitive closure of the criminal proceedings against the Garifuna defenders of San Juan due to the inapplicability of the agro-industrial and tourism law. It also denounced the change in jurisdiction for the case against the detainees, strongly objecting to what it describes as an “absurd, abusive, and racist” claim that the Garifuna community of San Juan constitutes a group of organized criminals.

   Amandala has been informed that a lawyer for the San Juan community has received information that in 1912, a Garifuna man rented lands to a private entity, and the land was subsequently sold multiple times based on a fraudulent registration. They are examining how this transaction could have contributed to the current crisis.

   Standing in solidarity with the Garifuna community in Honduras, a delegation from the National Garifuna Council in Belize, led by Mr. Nolberto, hand-delivered a letter to the Ambassador of Honduras to Belize, H.E. Carmen Scarleth Ayón Neda. The letter called on the government of Honduras to immediately cease any actions that threaten or undermine the human rights of the Garifuna people of San Juan and other affected communities. The NGC also appealed for the government of Honduras to respect and fully implement the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights concerning Garifuna ancestral lands; to ensure that all law enforcement and security personnel act in accordance with national and international human rights standards, exercising restraint and protecting the safety and dignity of community members; to guarantee meaningful dialogue with the affected Garifuna communities and their legitimate representatives regarding any matters affecting their ancestral territories; and to take immediate steps to safeguard the cultural heritage, livelihoods, and territorial rights of the Garifuna people, recognizing that their lands are inseparable from their identity, history, and survival as a distinct people.

   Speaking with Amandala today, the Ambassador assured that the correspondence has been sent to the president of Honduras, Mr. Nasry Asfura. She expressed her belief that the Government of Honduras is doing everything in its power to resolve the problem. However, she indicated that she has not yet received any official feedback on the NGC’s requests.

   The NGC also dispatched a letter to Belize’s prime minister, Hon. John Briceño, calling on the Government of Belize to formally engage the Government of Honduras through diplomatic channels to express concern regarding the treatment of the Garifuna communities in San Juan and other affected areas. The NGC’s letter also appealed to the government of Belize to encourage the government of Honduras to fully comply with its obligations under international human rights law, including the judgments of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights relating to Garifuna ancestral lands; to advocate for dialogue, respect for the rule of law, and the peaceful resolution of the  ongoing land disputes; to raise this matter, where appropriate, within regional and international forums to encourage respect for the human rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples; and to continue demonstrating Belize’s commitment to protecting the rights, dignity, and cultural heritage of the Garifuna people throughout the region.

    Prime Minister Briceño told Amandala today: “Our government has always supported the Garifuna people, and we will do all we can to continue to support them.”

   The NGC president has informed us that he has been trying to get an audience with the Prime Minister—not just to discuss the current situation, but also to advance dialogue on proposed revisions to a memorandum of understanding dating back to the Musa administration of 1999. He said that he visited the Prime Minister’s office yesterday, Wednesday, July 15, but was unable to see the Prime Minister, so he has requested an appointment. He said that he decided to visit the PM’s office because several attempts to communicate with him have been to no avail.

   “We are awaiting anxiously feedback on the [proposed] amended memorandum of understanding which we had sent to the government from last year [in August 2025],” Nolberto said, adding that he intends to continue reaching out to advance the dialogue with the Government of Belize.

   He said that the NGC is asking the Government of Belize to recognize Garinagu, in written law, as Indigenous, and to address matters such as non-discrimination and the establishment of a development fund, among other requests in the document.

   Nolberto said that they are “very concerned” that the Government has not responded to the NGC. He noted that Cabinet met yesterday and the House of Representatives is due to meet on Friday, but he was unsure whether the Briceño administration planned to address the matter at those meetings.

   The Pablo Lambey Foundation in Dangriga has also expressed its support for the Garifuna community in San Juan, Honduras, and it has called for supporters to sign the petition to help protect their people and ancestral lands on change.org.