Pope Francis on Sunday condemned the killing last week of an environmental activist in Honduras who had protested over mining and hydro-electric projects to try to protect tropical forests and rivers.

López’s death is the latest in a series of killings in a country known to be particularly deadly for environmental activists.

Juan Lopez is the fourth member of an environmental activism group based in in Tocoa to be killed since 2023. President Xiomara Castro condemned the murder and has ordered an investigation.

An environmental activist who protested mining and hydro-electric projects in northern Honduras in an effort to preserve tropical forests and rivers has been killed, police said on Sunday.

The U.S. State Department and other global leaders have denounced the slaying of another environmental leader in rural Honduras.

Juan Lopez, 46, was gunned down as he left church Saturday in the northeastern town of Tocoa, his widow Thelma Pena told AFP