Speaker 1: Berta Cassarus was one of the most influential advocates for
Speaker 1: indigenous and women's rights in Honduras lardis Criminacion con and
Speaker 1: when she began leading a protest campaign against a proposed
Speaker 1: hydro electric dam, she became one of the most celebrated
Speaker 1: environmental activists anywhere. Honduras was known as the most dangerous
Speaker 1: place in the world for environmental activists. More than one
Speaker 1: hundred had been reported killed in just the previous five years.
Speaker 1: She told friends about threatening phone calls she'd get. She said,
Speaker 1: strange cars followed her on the road. She knew that
Speaker 1: she was very much still being targeted and still at
Speaker 1: risk of being killed. Berta was the most powerful activist
Speaker 1: in her country, but none of the accolades could protect her.
Speaker 1: In the end, a prominent environmental rights activists was shot
Speaker 1: dead into Juras on Thursday, prompting protests in the capital.
Speaker 1: My name is monte Real, an investigative reporter for Bloomberg Green.
Speaker 1: On the upcoming podcast Blood River, we tell the story
Speaker 1: of a murder murder in a place where murderers thrive,
Speaker 1: where about of all homicides are left unsolved and unpunished.
Speaker 1: Hounder and police claimed that she was killed and a
Speaker 1: robbery gone wrong, but her family, friends and supporters are
Speaker 1: convinced that her death was a political assassination. It's a
Speaker 1: story full of deception, false leads, and cruel twists. It's
Speaker 1: about money, power, political influence, and the violence that goes
Speaker 1: along with them. That violence didn't begin or end with Berta.
Speaker 1: I threw myself towards the side of the bed in
Speaker 1: my room to protect myself, and the gunmen shot me
Speaker 1: in the head. I said, don't call the police, you know,
Speaker 1: because calling the police on honderous it's like calling the
Speaker 1: mafia to crime scene, and you can't trust them. We'll
Speaker 1: hear from victims, investigators, and eyewitnesses, the communities that fought
Speaker 1: alongside Berta, and the executives on the receiving end of
Speaker 1: that activism. We'll go into their homes, their offices, and
Speaker 1: in some cases, their prison cell All of them now
Speaker 1: face the same question, who, in the end, is really
Speaker 1: responsible for the death of Berta Cassidys and what does
Speaker 1: justice actually look like in a place where killers almost
Speaker 1: always walk away untouched. We think it's quite possible that
Speaker 1: there's more to this crime then has been exposed. So far.
Speaker 1: Blood River launches on July. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. H