“Hondurans flee climate change, violence, and a mining project”, 03 March 2021

...Francisco could have left his home in northeastern Honduras for any number of reasons...But the main reason Francisco fled Honduras was because of a mining project. An iron oxide mine under construction inside a national park just south of the city of Tocoa has sparked years of opposition, conflict, and violence in the area. Community residents have been protesting the mine to protect their river. Some are in jail. Others face threats. People have been killed...As a result, migrants face higher risks of abductions and killings in Mexico and death from exposure and dehydration across the US border...A Honduran company with links to prominent business tycoons and politicians owns the Los Pinares iron oxide mine and a processing facility under construction...Nucor Corporation, the largest US steel producer, has a stake in the project, an investigation by Univision revealed late last year. Prior to his appointment as US secretary of defense, General Lloyd Austin was on Nucor's board...People in the communities closest to the mine, Guapinol and Concepción, were concerned that it would contaminate their river and they began organizing and protesting construction. Other residents in the region, including in the city of Tocoa, joined them and formed a local environmental committee. But in the urban development of Ceibita, a mile outside the city, the mine has strong support...“These areas are completely militarized, either by state security forces or by security guards or by hitmen,” Landa said of the Tocoa region, noting outspoken mine opponents there receive constant death threats. Many people only see two real options, he said: “You either become complicit or you have to flee”...