source: Contra Corriente
The mayor's office of Adán Fúnez donated land to administrators of pages that conduct smear campaigns against farmers and environmental defenders.
Héctor Madrid, a journalist, correspondent for several media outlets, and administrator of the Noticias de Colón HN page, and Erlin Henríquez, an evangelical pastor who also manages Facebook pages and groups, benefited between 2015 and 2016 from the donation of land in the municipality of Tocoa, Colón, by Mayor Adán Fúnez. Their social media platforms have launched smear campaigns against members of peasant organizations in the Bajo Aguán region, disseminating content defending individuals under investigation by the Public Prosecutor's Office for alleged links to criminal organizations, and posting content that promotes the activities of the mayor, Adán Fúnez, of the Libre party, even after the release of a video showing him negotiating with drug traffickers.
On the night of February 17, 2025, journalist Héctor Madrid, in his role as correspondent for the Televicentro news program TN5, broadcast an interview on national television with the mayor of Tocoa, Adán Fúnez, a leader in the Atlantic region for the Liberty and Refoundation Party. This was not an interview to question him; the international news outlet Infobae had published a report indicating that the Honduran Attorney General's Office was investigating the mayor for his alleged involvement in the murder of councilman and environmentalist Juan López. Madrid was there to give Adán Fúnez an opportunity to defend himself.
Thus, the mayor and political leader responded to questions that allowed him to reject the accusations and shift attention to other actors. In his statements, the mayor accused the Catholic Church and the Agrarian Platform of being behind the accusations against him: “These people are supported by the Catholic Church, and the Church is a powerful force in the world. The Agrarian Platform is behind this; these people are getting a lot of money, and I’ve been accused of other things through some journalists from Contracorriente ,” Fúnez stated. At the end of the statement, a brief sound of approval from the journalist can be heard.
But the journalist and Fúnez share a past that binds them, and their alliance was solidified with a gift. According to documents from the Property Registry compiled by this publication, on April 30, 2016, Fúnez donated a 165-square-meter plot of land located in the Satélite neighborhood of the municipality of Tocoa, Colón, to journalist Hector Madrid. The donation was made as family property, thus prohibiting its sale or the establishment of any type of mortgage on the property.
Madrid manages Noticias de Colón HN , a Facebook page that posts local news and has no website, apparently run by a single person. The page has a history of supporting the political interests of Mayor Adán Fúnez.
However, Noticias de Colón HN recently made headlines when it was discovered that it has been a key player in disseminating a smear campaign against organizations that defend land and territory in the Bajo Aguán region. The campaign began on December 24, 2024, following the eviction of the Los Camarones peasant cooperative by an armed group. According to a statement issued in January 2025 by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Honduras (OHCHR), this online campaign has increased the level of risk for these organizations, exposing them to greater threats from criminal groups.
The first post about the conflict was published on December 24, 2024, at 6:29 p.m., just hours after the armed attack that forcibly evicted the members of the Camarones Cooperative. The post referred to the farmers of the Camarones Cooperative as "criminal groups protected by human rights and international organizations" and denied the involvement of the armed group that participated in the eviction.
In other posts, the page accused members of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods (CMDBCP) of wounding people with firearms, as well as shooting those who disagree with their actions. It has also accused the Committee, the Agrarian Platform, its affiliated organization COPA (Coordinator of Popular Organizations of the Aguán), and the Catholic Church of acting as “an organized crime group.” Some of these posts are illustrated with videos showing unidentified individuals carrying out acts of violence, although it is not possible to determine whether the videos even originated in that region.
Furthermore, between April and September 2025, Noticias de Colón Hn published several posts defending individuals who had recently been charged by the Public Prosecutor's Office and are currently in pretrial detention for the crimes of forced displacement and illegal possession of firearms. The posts were in support of Juan Carlos Lizama and Filimon Escobar, whom the prosecution accused in May 2025 of being members of the criminal gang "Los Cachos."
For example, on May 30, 2025, following the arrest of Juan Carlos Lizama, Noticias de Colón claimed that the Agrarian Platform was responsible for his legal troubles and published a letter purportedly written by him. In the letter, Lizama defends the position of Corporación Dinant, the empire of magnate Miguel Mauricio Facussé, regarding the land conflict in the area.
The page also published an interview with Heriberto Alemán, director of the Association for Environment, Rights and Justice, in which he defended Filimon Escobar after his capture in late August 2025. The interview was also published in at least two Facebook groups, and days later another post was made accusing the Agrarian Platform of being "a group of invaders" responsible for Escobar's capture.
In the interview, Alemán stated that "it is deplorable the hatred that the Judiciary is unleashing on the people of Quebrada de Arena; the latest event is the arrest of our great friend Lesli Escobar." According to information obtained by this media outlet, the Public Prosecutor's Office identifies Escobar as one of the leaders of "Los Cachos"; furthermore, he is accused of carrying out violent evictions with a firearm, despite not having any registered weapon in his name.
Regarding the prosecution's request against the members of the criminal gang, on July 31, 2025, Alemán stated in a press conference that these had been issued for "defending access to the river and several areas that have served as means of production for different products of this community," and assured that those pointed out by the Public Ministry are "honorable members of the community."
Alemán also pointed out that they are only willing to vacate if the land is handed over to the Dinant company, and assured that those currently occupying the land will not accept "any attempt to award the property to third parties or supposed new owners."
Regarding his participation in the smear campaign involving publications attacking or targeting the Agrarian Platform without evidence, in an interview with Contracorriente , Hector Madrid explained that his justification for these publications is his belief that the organization's members are part of a criminal group—though he provides no conclusive evidence to support this narrative—and that they have used the organizations as a political platform. He also points to an incident in which, following a town hall meeting seeking approval for a thermoelectric plant owned by Ecotek, protesters attacked his vehicle with stones. Madrid claims the protesters were members of environmental organizations, although there are no investigations or evidence to confirm their identities.
Furthermore, regarding the posts supporting individuals facing legal proceedings for allegedly being members of "Los Cachos , " Madrid asserts that he did not know Juan Carlos Lizama and "only published the information that was shared with him," even though the images were accompanied by messages against the Platform. And in the case of Filimon Escobar, he claims to know him and that he would even testify in his favor.
Regarding the plot of land donated to him by the municipality in 2016, he asserted that it was part of a donation made to 20 local journalists and that Mayor Adán Fúnez had no involvement, as the donation was authorized by former Mayor Hector Hernández in 2011. However, according to documents, Fúnez was the one who signed the authorization for the donation, and he was already a councilman in the administration prior to that donation. Records in the National Property Administration System (SINAP) indicate that the plot donated to Madrid is indeed part of a subdivision designated for social facilities and housing, in which more than 100 transactions have been carried out with different individuals.
Madrid pointed out that the donation of this property did not involve any exchange of favors, and that his posts in favor of the mayor are due to the fact that they are childhood friends.
Noticias de Colón is also used to publish content directly related to the Dinant Corporation, including job postings, official statements, and company announcements. These posts are not marked as advertising, and Madrid maintains that he publishes them because he believes the company provides various benefits to the community.
On August 1, 2025, the website published a document showing that attorney Manuel Asdrúbal Murillo Maradiaga, who officially presented himself as the legal representative of Exportadora del Atlántico SA de CV, a company owned by Corporación Dinant, appeared as a private prosecutor in the case against five men accused of crimes including forced displacement and illicit association, to the detriment of the Agrarian Platform. According to the document, the arguments presented by the attorney favor the defendants, whom the Prosecutor's Office links to the criminal organization "Los Cachos," with the aim of suspending the evictions from the cooperatives occupied by these groups in December 2024 and January 2025.
In 2012 , lawyer Manuel Asdrubal Murillo appeared before the media as the legal representative of Miguel Facussé, owner of Corporación Dinant, and his partner Irene Castro, father of current president Xiomara Castro. At that time, he was defending his clients against statements made by Andres Pavón, then president of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights (CODEH), who had accused them of being implicated in the murder of social leader and environmental activist Carlos Escaleras, as mentioned in a report by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Asdrubal Murillo also participated as a pre-candidate for deputy in the Liberal Party for the primary elections of March 2025, although he ultimately did not obtain enough votes to advance to the general elections.
We sent a request for information regarding Dinant's involvement in this scheme; however, as of the time of publication, the company had not responded.
File a complaint with the prosecutor's office
On October 28, the Aguán Agrarian Platform and the Coordinator of Popular Organizations of Aguán (COPA) filed a complaint with the Public Ministry regarding a media campaign promoted through local media in Tocoa and social networks, which they claim has incited violence with the purpose of "justifying, motivating and planning assassinations" against their leaders.
The campaign intensified between December 2024 and January 2025, when the criminal gang "Los Cachos" attacked three farmers' cooperatives and displaced more than 150 families from the Camarones Farmers' Cooperative. The narrative disseminated on Facebook pages and groups included accusations against members of the Agrarian Platform, labeling them "usurpers," "invaders," and members of "a criminal organization."
The messages were primarily shared by Noticias de Colón HN , run by journalist Héctor Madrid, who also works as a reporter for the television news programs Hoy Mismo and TN5 , and has publicly expressed his support for Mayor Adán Fúnez and the Dinant Corporation. They also appeared on the Noticias Quebrada de Arena page and a group of the same name, administered by evangelical pastor Erlin Henríquez and a person named Franklin Munguía. Additionally, the La Sultana de Colón and Asociación de Ganaderos pages have reposted messages with the same content.
These pages have not only attacked environmental movements or leaders critical of Mayor Adán Fúnez, but have also explicitly published support for his political interests, even promoting his activities in defense of his image after the entire country began to point him out for alleged links with organized crime following the publication, in September 2024, of a video in which he is seen negotiating with members of the "Los Cachiros" cartel.
They have also disseminated publications that defend groups and individuals accused by the Honduran Prosecutor's Office of being part of the criminal structure Los Cachos , which is accused of participating in violent evictions and multiple murders in the Bajo Aguán area.
Previously, Contracorriente published an investigation that revealed that prior to his murder, Juan López, an environmental defender and councilman of the municipality of Tocoa, was investigating alleged acts of corruption in the mayor's office that benefited local businesses linked to "Los Cachos".
Documents from the Property Institute confirm that both journalist Héctor Madrid and Pastor Erlin Henríquez received land donations in Tocoa from Mayor Adán Fúnez between 2016 and 2017. In the pastor's case, he sold the land for 100,000 lempiras two years after receiving the donation.
Pastor Erlin's accounts and properties
On July 2, 2016, Adán Fúnez, in his capacity as mayor of the municipality of Tocoa, authorized the donation of a 170-square-meter plot of land located in the village of Nueva Ceibita to Erlin Adalid Henríquez. Despite having received this donation from the mayor's office, on May 24, 2018—almost two years later—Henríquez sold the land to Roberto Carlos Guerra for 100,000 lempiras, according to the valuation by the municipality's Cadastral Department.
Henríquez is an evangelical pastor and manages at least eight Facebook pages, including: Noticias Quebrada de Arena , Sé Líder Donde Estés , Mi Lindo Sector Abisinia , Cayo Sierra Noticias , Movimiento Sé Líder , Iglesia Getsemaní A/D Cayo Sierra , Cayo Sierra, mi pueblo natal , and Pastores Henríquez Orellana . He also has a connection to an administrator of the Quebrada de Arena group . Henríquez's connection to these pages is evident in the fact that they share his contact number and email address. Furthermore, the pastor appears in various posts greeting his followers through photos and videos.
In that context, their website Noticias Quebrada de Arena and the Quebrada de Arena group have been directly involved in the smear campaign undertaken against members of the Agrarian Platform.
The Facebook page Noticias Quebrada de Arena was created on January 11, 2025, and from its inception was used to spread threats in the context of evictions carried out by armed groups against members of peasant cooperatives. For example, on January 27, it published a curfew announcement, and on February 1, it shared a message from an alleged "death squad" claiming they would be "in support" of the Quebrada de Arena community.
The page's initial posts show that, shortly after its creation, it promoted a narrative against Plataforma Agraria, calling the farmers invaders and claiming they were not the true members of the cooperatives and had no rights to the land. They even accused the platform of possessing weapons, without providing any evidence to support this claim.
The Facebook group Quebrada de Arena also participated in the campaign, primarily to amplify and replicate the messages from the Noticias Quebrada de Arena page . The names of the group's administrators are public: Sandres Joel, Vilma Brizuela, Arenatv Quebrada, and Franklin Munguía, the latter being the most active in posting content.
Franklin Munguía acts as a direct link to the Noticias Quebrada de Arena page , collaborating on posts and constantly sharing his content within the group. Munguía has also shared content defending those accused by the prosecution of being part of the Los Cachos criminal group, particularly Filimon Escobar. In the page's comments, Munguía refers to Pastor Erlin as his cousin.
Pastor Erlin not only benefited from the Tocoa municipality's donation of land, which he then put up for sale. On December 6, 2016, the National Agrarian Institute (INA) issued a resolution granting him, within the framework of agrarian reform, an 818-square-meter plot of land located in the village of La Abisinia. In January 2021, Henríquez sold this property to farmer José Trinidad Chávez for 17,593 lempiras.
In an interview with Contracorriente, Erlin Henrriquez asserted that, contrary to what appears in the Property Institute documents, in both cases he made a direct purchase and did not receive any donations. Henrriquez maintained that he owes no favors to the mayor or to Corporación Dinant. "There's no benefit involved; I don't have to repay anyone's favors because they weren't favors," he stated, denying any connection to either the company or the mayor.
Regarding his involvement in the smear campaign, he initially justified himself by saying that he no longer managed the Noticias Quebrada de Arena page, but that this had been the case for fifteen days. Faced with evidence of posts dating back to January 2025, Henrriquez defended himself by saying that "there is a diversity of opinion," and asserted that "there is smear campaigning from both sides," although he maintained that "it depends on each person's point of view."
Finally, Erlin Henrriquez confirmed his family relationship with Franklin Munguia, administrator of the group where the messages attacking the Agrarian Platform are reproduced.
The other pages that have been part of the smear campaign
In addition to the pages directly related to Hector Madrid and Pastor Erlin Henrriquez and his close circle, other pages have been created in the context of the smear campaign against the Agrarian Platform and its leaders.
In September 2025, a new page called La Sultana de Colón was created, where all posts are related to the violence in the region. The posts on this page accuse the Agrarian Platform of committing crimes, without offering any evidence. Furthermore, they have also reinforced the narrative by defending those accused of being part of the criminal group "Los Cachos."
Another recently created Facebook page, also part of the campaign, is called the Livestock Farmers Association, and its first post dates back to December 7, 2024. Following the violent eviction of the Camarones Cooperative on December 24, the page has focused on reinforcing the narrative against the Platform and the cooperative's members. It has also published a press release from the Dinant Corporation denying any links to criminal activities.
Both pages published curfew announcements and shared the message about "death squads" that would be "in support" of the Quebrada de Arena community. They also shared messages targeting the Catholic Church and other organizations defending the land in the area.
In March 2023, Contracorriente reported that a Twitter campaign began in October 2021 accusing members of the Municipal Committee for the Defense of Common and Public Goods, who opposed a mine in Guapinol, of being "fake environmentalists" and of participating in the murder of 10 people during the conflict. Analysis by this media outlet and experts on these types of smear campaigns determined that false content was created and disseminated in a coordinated manner.
A key element in that campaign was an account linked to journalist Saul Vásquez, who worked at Diario La Prensa until 2021 and who, according to his LinkedIn account, was a freelancer and offered ghostwriting, public relations and blogging services.
After the publication of these campaigns came the murder of Aly Magdaleno Domínguez Ramos and Jairo Bonilla Ayala in early 2023, and in September 2024 the murder of Juan López, who was also a councilman of the municipality and a delegate of the word of the Catholic Church.
Following the complaint filed by the Agrarian Platform with the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding the smear campaign against it, the organization stated in a press release that it "incites violence against us with the purpose of justifying, motivating and planning assassinations against our leaders."
Furthermore, they pointed to the administrators of these pages as "people who exploit the profession of journalists or social communicators, but who, in reality, operate as mercenaries defending the criminal interests of those who pay them."
On September 17 of this year, the organization Global Witness published a report documenting the struggles of people who defend the environment and their land. According to their data on Honduras, in 2024, five people were murdered and one is missing because of this work.
The organization places particular emphasis on the Colón and Bajo Aguán region, noting that it is "an area affected by the ongoing conflict over agrarian reform and water resources. The area is heavily militarized and marked by violence and the forced displacement of communities. Three of the people killed or disappeared in 2024 were small-scale farmers and members of peasant cooperatives in Bajo Aguán," and they conclude by pointing out that "this is not the first time that communities involved in these struggles have reported acts of violence and been targeted for assassination."
