This decision was made after the Honduran General Attorney’s office requested that it be lifted on the basis of the argument that “all of the [necessary] investigations and scientific tests have been exhausted” in the case of the assassination of Berta Cáceres on March 3rd.

Gustavo Castro, coordinator of Otros Mundos A.C./Friends of the Earth Mexico, was witness to the murder of the coordinator of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) and was wounded during the attack. As a Mexican citizen and as a witness and victim of attempted murder in Honduras, he has had the right all along to collaborate with the Honduran justice from his own country, in accord with the Treaty for Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in effect between Honduras and Mexico.

However, this right was violated by the Judge Victorina Flores Orellana who on March 7 issued the migratory alert for thirty days against Gustavo Castro, and by the Honduran General Attorney’s Office that took 24 days to revoke this measure. During this period, Gustavo has only been required to undertake two more procedures in the context of the investigation which, as mentioned earlier, could have taken place from Mexico.

We are pleased with this decision that finally allows our comrade Gustavo to return to Mexico. However, we denounce the lack of reaction on the part of the Mexican government, in particular by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs which, despite its communiqué today, did not take the necessary steps to urge the Honduran government to let a Mexican citizen return home. Meanwhile, the team of Otros Mundos A.C./Friends of the Earth Mexico, the family and legal counsel of Gustavo Castro, organizations acting in solidarity and international bodies have not stopped denouncing the violation of human rights that this migratory alert represented.

We demand that the right of Gustavo Castro to continue collaborating in the investigation from Mexico according to the treaty between both countries be respected.

Our position remains the same: we demand an impartial investigation of the facts until the murder of Berta Cáceres and the assassination attempt against Gustavo Castro are fully clarified and those truly responsible are held to account.

We will continue to update on this situation.

Thank you for your solidarity.

Otros Mundos A.C. – Friends of the Earth Mexico