Juan Lopez

Environmental defender Juan López was killed in Tocoa, Colón, on September 14, 2024; though three alleged masterminds were arrested in May 2026, his family and human-rights groups say the investigation remains incomplete and demand identification of who ordered the murder.

A preliminary hearing in the case of three men accused of intellectually orchestrating the September 2024 killing of environmental activist and former Tocoa councilman Juan López has been rescheduled to October 1, while two of the accused remain under house arrest rather than jailed pending trial—a decision that a local defense committee says endangers López's family and other land defenders.

The trial of three men accused as the triggermen in the 2024 killing of environmental leader Juan López has been postponed to January 18, 2027, to incorporate new evidence from arrests of three additional suspects charged with orchestrating the crime.