An environmental and indigenous peoples' activist was killed in Honduras in what appears to be an escalation in violence and intimidation against the families and associates of Berta Caceres, the internationally-known activist who was killed under highly suspicious circumstances two weeks ago.

38-year old Nelson Garcia was shot and the face by unknown gunmen as he returned home from a protest of the forcible eviction of the indigenous Lenca community from lands in Rio Chaquito that politicians and developers claimed weren't theirs.  Garcia was a member of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh), the group co-founded 22 years ago by Ms. Caceres in response to constant threats against the Lenca people, as well as their homes and farms.  Earlier this month she was shot to death in her home a hundred miles away.  Police claim it occurred during a home invasion.

"We demand an end to the persecution, harassment, and the war against Copinh members," the group said in a statement.  "We demand justice for our dead colleagues from the Honduran government and an end to impunity."

The only witness to the Caceres murder says he did not hear the sound of vehicle engines in between the shooting and the arrival of police.  Gustavo Castro Soto survived the attack by playing dead.  Amnesty International, The Sierra Club, and other groups are demanding answers from the Honduran government about why he's being blocked from leaving the country to return to his home in Mexico, which they say places Mr. Castro Soto's life in danger.  The Dutch Development Bank FMO, which invests in private startups and projects in developing nations, has suspended operations in Honduras because of the increase of bloodshed against activists.

The murder of Nelson Garcia is only the latest foul act against Copinh members.  Since the terror on Berta Caceres' home, eight of the organization's coordinators have been hauled in for interrogation for sessions that lasted up to 12 hours, and for 48 hours for one senior leader.  Unidentified men have tried to enter Copinh members' home, and Berta Caceres' daughter has been tailed by plainclothes armed men in the capital, Tegucigalpa.

Berta Caceres in 2015 was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for opposing one of the region's biggest hydroelectric projects in the Gualcarque river basin, which would harm the environment, irrevocably change a river considered sacred to the Lenca people, and cut-off food and medicine supplies to nearby communities.