On April 19, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted on Facebook: “Peace Brigades International-USA, along with 60 national and international organizations, are asking the U.S. Department of the Treasury to cancel the international funding of the Jilamito hydroelectric project in Honduras.”
Key excerpts from this letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen signed by PBI-USA, School of Americas Watch (SOAW), Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective, the Latin American Working Group (LAWG), and others include:
“We, the undersigned organizations, write to express our serious concern about the decision of IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Bank Group of Desarrollo, which in December 2020 approved a loan of $ 20.25 million for the Jilamito Hydroelectric Project in Honduras.”
“The continued opposition from affected communities to the project is well documented, as is that the heinous acts of violence and intimidation suffered by those who oppose the draft.”
“The Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice (MADJ), an organization Honduran woman highly respected from civil society to which affected local residents belong for the project, has presented serious complaints to the Honduran authorities that allege corruption and other irregularities related to the project.”
“We urge you to use the voice of the United States within IDB Invest and your role as a member of the DFC [the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation] Board of Directors to suspend proposed funding for the Jilamito Hydroelectric Project, ensure that no disbursements are made and that financing is definitely canceled.”
The letter concludes: “There is a need to improve current safeguards and safeguards application mechanisms to prevent this type of situation in the future. Take action to ensure the US is not complicit in project funding that undermines the rule of law and human rights.”
On March 22, Martín Fernández Guzman, a member of MADJ, spoke on a PBI-USA organized a webinar about the resistance in Honduras to the dam.
The US holds 30 percent of the votes of the IDB.
To read the full letter to Secretary Yellen, click here.