Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee and Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, along with Representative Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and 15 other House Members sent a letter urging Secretary of State Marco Rubio to advocate with the government of Honduras for justice for the victims of a May 2026 massacre of peasant farmworkers and for a just resolution of land disputes. 

“Peace, stability, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and sustainable economic development in Honduras are firmly in the strategic interests of the United States,” wrote Representatives McGovern, Ramirez, and the other Members of Congress. “Violence, corruption, and impunity undermine regional stability, facilitate the expansion of criminal activity, and contribute to the conditions that drive migration.” 

The letter notes that the massacre in Rigores in the Lower Aguán region of Honduras comes in the context of the new Law for the Strengthening and Protection of the Agroindustrial Sector, Energy, Tourism, Livestock, and Small Agricultural Producers in Honduras that appears to favor agricultural conglomerates at the expense of small-scale farmers, jeopardizing their access to arable land and sustainable work. 

In the letter, the Members of Congress affirm they “believe that the United States government must support meaningful action to prevent further violence and promote accountability,” and ask that the State Department make the following requests of the Honduran government:

• Establish, in coordination with the UN, an international investigative commission, with the participation of local and national stakeholders, to identify all those responsible for the Rigores massacre at every level; 
   
• Provide the Public Prosecutor’s Office with the resources and political will necessary to dismantle criminal organizations operating in the Lower Aguán region and ensure that all forms of collaboration, protection, or collusion involving state agents are identified, investigated, and prosecuted; and
   
• Pursue comprehensive and sustainable solutions to land and territorial struggles that address their structural and historical causes, uphold the rule of law, and contribute to a more just and equitable future for all Hondurans.

The 15 other members who signed the letter include Representatives Greg Casar (D-TX), Veronica Escobar (D-TX), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Summer Lee (D-PA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Paul Tonko (D-NY).

The full text of the letter is available here.

A Spanish translation of the letter is available here.

A Spanish translation of this press release is available here.