6 police officers were among the dead. Honduras struggles with high rates of crime linked to gangs and the transnational drug trade
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenAssociated PressPublished: 7:29am, 22 May 2026Gunmen opened fire in two separate attacks on Thursday on the Honduran coast, killing at least 16 people, including six police officers, police said.
The first incident took place at a plantation in the municipality of Trujillo in northern Honduras, where at least 10 workers were shot and killed, National Police spokesman Edgardo Barahona said.
The resource-rich region has been the site of a decades-long agrarian conflict.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has previously issued precautionary measures to some activists in the region who have been threatened, surveilled and intimidated for their work defending the environment and land rights.
The 2024 killing of environmental leader Juan Lopez highlighted the dangers of defending natural resources in this highly militarised area of Honduras.
The Central American nation regularly ranks as one of the most dangerous for environmentalists, with five killed in 2024 and 18 the year before, according to non-governmental organisation Global Witness.
Three people were recently arrested for masterminding Lopez’s killing, providing a rare glimpse of justice in a country with high rates of impunity.
