Lawless Planet – "A Killing Exposes the Dirty Side of Clean Energy"

Podcast: Lawless Planet
Host: Zach Goldbaum
Release Date: September 29, 2025
Episode Theme: This episode investigates the 2016 assassination of Honduran indigenous and environmental leader Berta Cáceres and exposes how "clean" energy projects—hydropower dams in particular—fueled corruption, violence, and murder. The episode traces the dirty connections between international finance, political elites, and deadly repression in the fight for control of natural resources.

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode of Lawless Planet uncovers the tragic murder of Berta Cáceres, who led the resistance against the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam in Honduras. Through her story, the host reveals how development projects—touted as green and progressive—often devastate indigenous communities, incite violence, and are enmeshed in broader geopolitical power games.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The 2009 Honduran Coup and Its Aftermath

• Coup Overview:
  • The episode opens with a vivid retelling of the ousting of President Manuel Zelaya by the military (00:00–01:45). Zelaya’s modest leftist reforms, including a moratorium on mining concessions, threatened business elites and triggered the coup.
• Atmosphere of Violence:
  • Protests erupted; state repression quickly followed, with tanks and live ammunition.
    • Quote: “I knew that people were being shot in the streets and detained and beaten up in protests…” – Karen Spring (01:45)

2. Enter Berta Cáceres: Indigenous Resistance

• Who Was Berta?
  • A renowned activist and indigenous Lenca leader, founder of COPINH (Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras).
    • Quote: “Copinh is an organization made up of more than 100 communities...to defend the rights of indigenous peoples.” – Berta Cáceres (08:45)
• Her Organizing Style:
  • Courageous, strategic, and fearless, as described by human rights worker Karen Spring during their first protest together:
    • Quote: “I remember her just getting out of the taxi and saying, ‘Follow me’... I was just like, man, this woman is serious.” – Karen Spring (02:42)

3. "Green" Energy as a Front for Exploitation

• Post-Coup "Development":
  • After the coup, the new government announced: “Honduras is open for business.” (03:36) Foreign investment flooded in, especially for "renewable" projects.
• The Agua Zarca Dam:
  • Approved on the sacred Gualcarque river, lifeblood for the Lenca. The community was neither asked for consent nor properly informed.
    • Quote: “They didn’t even know about the project. They found out about it when machines started showing up…” – Karen Spring (09:59)
• Cast of Characters:
  • David Castillo – West Point grad, intelligence officer, founder of DESA (dam company).
  • Atala Family – Wealthy oligarchs behind DESA and project financing.

4. Grassroots Resistance and State Violence

• Community Organizing:
  • COPINH leads blockades and protests; Berta and her people reject the dam publicly and repeatedly.
    • Quote: “The only way...to counter the advance of neoliberalism...is with the fight for social justice.” – Berta Cáceres (13:22)
• Repression Escalates:
  • Arrests, intimidation, and violence become routine. At a protest in July 2013, police kill indigenous activist Tomás García.
    • Quote: “It was very much a demonstration of the violence that the state was willing to employ... It showed the collusion of interests that the state was one and the same with this private dam company.” – Karen Spring (18:41)
• International Clean Energy Financiers Withdraw:
  • After disputes and violence, Chinese partner Sinohydro pulls out, but international funds still flow in.

5. Surveillance, Threats, and the Murder Plot

• Escalating Threats:
  • Surveillance and intimidation of Berta become constant. She reports 33 death threats.
    • Berta on living with danger: “It’s not easy...you see brutal violence and a very real, very close thing...the risk of losing my life.” (21:15)
• The Night of the Murder:
  • March 2, 2016: Gunmen storm Berta’s home, kill her, and wound Mexican activist Gustavo Castro, who survives by playing dead.
    • Quote: “They killed Berta. I’m in the house, I’m really scared. What should I do?” – Gustavo Castro (25:28)

6. The Official Cover-up and a Fight for Justice

• Botched Investigation:
  • Police immediately fixate on a crime of passion theory, ignore evidence implicating DESA executives, and even detain survivors as suspects.
    • Quote: “They were trying to build the case that we were involved in her murder.” – Karen Spring (31:34)
• International Pressure:
  • Global outrage and protests force authorities to arrest DESA-linked suspects. Independent international attorneys eventually uncover damning evidence:
    • Over 40,000 messages prove the dam company, state agents, and military plotted Berta's assassination for months.
• High-Level Complicity:
  • DESA executive David Castillo is arrested as the mastermind in 2018 (40:17–42:16), with links to both U.S. military training and Honduran intelligence.
  • In 2021, Castillo is convicted and sentenced. A warrant is later issued for Daniel Atala, CFO and oligarch, who remains a fugitive.
    • Quote: “Once he took the stand, he pleaded the Honduran version of the fifth…” – Karen Spring (43:45)

7. Broader Implications and Legacy

• Partial Victory, Enduring Dangers:
  • The Agua Zarca dam project collapses, but threats to land defenders persist, and similar projects advance elsewhere.
  • Berta becomes an enduring symbol for environmental and indigenous resistance across Latin America and beyond.
    • Quote: “Berta Caceres is one individual in this small country...one of many land defenders...with an alternative vision...” – Karen Spring (44:59)
    • Quote: “Understanding our ancestors' power is key for us to hold on and to have hope.” – Berta Cáceres (45:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On The Coup and Its Fallout:
  • “It was an old fashioned military coup. In the weeks that followed, protesters...were met by tanks, tear gas, rubber bullets, and soon live ammunition.” – Zach Goldbaum (00:00)
• On "Green" Energy’s Dark Side:
  • “On paper, who could complain? They were renewable, green... But Berta Caceres...could see through the greenwashed facade.” – Zach Goldbaum (05:16)
• On Berta’s Spiritual Resolve:
  • “I went into the river. I could talk to the river. I felt what the river was telling me… The river told me so.” – Berta Cáceres (13:56)
• Mother Earth’s Plea:
  • “Mother Earth has been militarized, fenced and poisoned...Wake up, humanity. We’re out of time.” – Berta Cáceres, Goldman Prize speech (20:13)
• The International Smoking Gun:
  • “The existing proof is conclusive regarding the participation of numerous state agents, high ranking executives and employees of DESA in the planning, execution, and cover up of the assassination.” – International attorneys’ report (40:06)

Timestamps for Crucial Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------| | 00:00–02:16 | The 2009 Coup and Berta’s early activism | | 03:36–06:00 | Honduras "open for business" and the flood of clean energy projects | | 08:45–10:26 | The sacredness of the Gualcarque River and the Lenca’s exclusion | | 13:22–14:13 | COPINH’s direct action and Berta’s spiritual connection to the river | | 18:02–19:00 | The death of Tomás García and evidence of state violence | | 20:13–20:50 | Berta’s Goldman Environmental Prize speech | | 22:21–26:49 | The night of Berta’s murder and aftermath | | 31:34–32:28 | Efforts to pin the murder on Berta’s colleagues and survivors | | 40:06–42:16 | The independent investigation reveals the full conspiracy | | 43:45–44:03 | Daniel Atala pleads the "Honduran fifth" in court testimony | | 44:59–45:27 | Berta's legacy and the ongoing struggle |

Language & Tone

The episode is richly narrated and investigative, blending the tension of true crime with the urgency of climate crisis storytelling. The voices of activists and witnesses infuse the story with heartbreak, resilience, and hope. Zach Goldbaum’s narration is sober and direct; Berta’s speeches and Karen Spring’s testimony add passion and clarity.

Conclusion

"A Killing Exposes the Dirty Side of Clean Energy" weaves the tragedy of Berta Cáceres’s assassination into the larger tapestry of global ecological struggle—illuminating the perils of "green" development at the expense of indigenous rights and pointing to the continued need for vigilance, solidarity, and systemic change. The victory against the Agua Zarca dam is a rare bright spot in a landscape marked by violence, impunity, and corruption—but Berta’s legacy inspires ongoing resistance around the globe.