Michael Hudson
Senior Editor
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
mwhudson@gmail.com
June 25, 2015

Dear Mr. Hudson,
Re: ICIJ Article on the Honduran Land Conflicts
Sasha Chavkin’s article, “‘Bathed In Blood’ - World Bank’s Business-Lending Arm Backed Palm Oil Producer Amid Deadly
Land War,” published by ICIJ and the Huffington Post on 10 June 2015, is the latest in a long line of one-sided articles that,
rather ludicrously, assumes that Corporación Dinant is responsible for the problems of the Aguán region of Honduras. As
a family owned business that operated successfully and peacefully throughout Honduras for many decades prior to the
land conflicts, we strongly believe that the reality is very different from the situation that Mr. Chavkin describes.
Although Dinant is only one of many stakeholders in the Aguán, we recognize that as a major employer and driver of
economic growth we have an important part to play in securing a safer and more prosperous future for the region. Nobody
was more committed to the Aguán than Miguel Facusse, the founder and President of Corporación Dinant, who passed
away earlier this week. Many erroneous, hurtful and politically motivated articles have been written about Miguel
Facusse. A more accurate reflection of his life is the legacy that touches thousands of people – those he employed with
living wages and company pensions; the underprivileged communities he supported through Dinant’s health, education
and training programs; and the many independent producers from whom he purchased raw materials to make Dinant’s
range of fast-selling consumer products. Mr. Facusse’s contribution extended beyond the Aguán, reaching the whole of
Honduras and Central America. But nothing aroused his passion more than improving and modernizing his business for
the benefit of society as a whole.
For example, as part of our adherence to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, Dinant has removed all
firearms from security men and women at our plantations, extraction mills and manufacturing plants. We rigorously
benchmarks our operations against stringent international standards regarding the economic, environmental and social
impact of our African Palm oil business. All Dinant facilities in Honduras have been awarded ISO 14000 and OHSAS 18001
status as a mark of our progress in environmental management and occupational health & safety. And our local
Community Grievance Mechanisms provide members of the public with simple, safe and reliable ways of communicating
with us.
Of course, Mr. Facusse was the first to admit that Dinant, like all organizations, is not perfect. We accept that we were
not initially prepared, trained nor equipped to deal with the complex security situation that has afflicted the Aguán since
2009. There have been several occasions when Dinant security guards and contractors have had to defend their lives
against invaders armed with illegal weapons. Dinant deeply regrets the tragic deaths of six armed trespassers between
2010 and 2011 and the deaths of 19 Dinant security guards since 2010 in numerous incidents that occurred during
invasions of our plantations or in related events. We took all possible steps to investigate these incidents, including giving
the police the names, addresses and weapons of all the security guards that were working at the time. All those brought
to trial were ultimately acquitted on grounds of self-defense.

 Dinant also welcomed the Attorney General’s decision in 2014 to undertake a special investigation into the Bajo Aguán,
and we eagerly await the report. If Dinant security staff or contractors have made mistakes in the course of defending
their lives and company property, then it is right that these be revealed by the Government investigation and appropriate
legal action taken as soon as possible. We ask that the same standard apply to all parties in the Aguán.
Dinant fully supports any transparent and technically advanced investigation into the Aguán that is considered credible by
the international community. Until that happens, we accept that we shall continue to suffer from articles like Mr.
Chavkin’s that are based on the discredited anecdotes of political extremists in Honduras who are, unfortunately, adept
at manipulating the international media. Nevertheless, we remain committed to improving our company, and helping in
any way possible to bring an end to the land conflicts of the Aguán. That is why we are participating in an approach being
suggested by the Consensus Building Institute, under the supervision of the IFC, to seek resolutions to any ongoing
problems in the Aguán. As part of CBI’s approach, Dinant has agreed for an independent board to review our land titles
and related documents, and for the findings to be published and made available to any party.
I invite you to visit Corporación Dinant’s operations in the Aguán, or elsewhere in Honduras, to see the legacy of Miguel
Facusse’s modernization programs and the significant improvements we have made in how we secure our facilities,
protect the environment, and engage peacefully and openly with local people.
Yours sincerely,

Roger Pineda Pinel
Corporate Relations Director, Corporación Dinant
Barrio Morazan, Frente a Plantas Tropicales, Boulevard Suyapa
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
cc:

Gerard Ryle, ICIJ Executive Director, gryle@icij.org