Church leaders in Honduras have condemned the murder of 21 workers, including three children, who were taking refuge from criminal gangs inside a church.
Authorities in the Diocese of Trujillo say armed men opened fire in the church as the labourers were about to start their daily work on a palm oil plantation in the community of Rigores.
The massacre, on 21 May, is part of a wave of violence across the region, caused by drug gangs and land disputes. Earlier this year, measures to enhance security in Honduras were announced, and Jesuit Fr Gregorio Vasquez, who coordinates the National Apostolic Council in Honduras, said he thinks the violence is, in part, a warning to the authorities.
He said such massacres “cannot be analysed without taking into consideration the wave of violence caused both by common and organised crime".
“Honduras has been facing a rather complex situation," he added. "Those deaths touch on very sensitive issues for Hondurans – drug trafficking, gangs, and historic land disputes”.
In a statement, the Bishops' Conference of Honduras rejected the violence, saying it had received the news with “sadness and indignation”, adding that “each of the victims was a person created in the image of God.
“We hereby express our complete rejection of this and other similar acts. We cannot accept superficial justifications in the light of such horrendous deeds.”
The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council also released a statement condemning the massacre and demanded that the Honduran government “urgently guarantees protection and security for peasant families in the communities of Bajo Aguán and to contribute solutions that respect human and environmental rights in those communities.”