Last update: June 14 at 8:30 pm
Expert Harald Waxenecker finished on the stand after four hours of questions today by the defense team. The court heard debates about procedural issues related to the defense’s technical consultants and set the trial schedule for the next few days. Tomorrow at 10:30, Berta Zúniga Cáceres will testify and then the court will begin to hear evidence presented by the defense.
Last update: June 12 at 1:00 pm
In a short session today, Castillo’s defense team continued to interrogate expert Waxenecker and will continue, once again, on Monday at 9 am. Waxenecker touches on possible motives of the crime by affirming that DESA had economic resources to lose if the project was stopped but also, the capabilities to pay for the murder if need be, although he is clear that a more extensive financial analysis is needed to establish how and if this occurred. Waxenecker says that DESA’s economic capabilities (to pay for the murder (if that was the case) and push the Agua Zarca project forward), stem from financing granted by international banks to DESA.
The defense asks him to go to a certain page in the files he used for his analysis. Q: Can you read this part? A: The documents don’t indicate the flow of economic resources
Q: Can you read the paragraph? Objection.
Q: What doe these lines say in the file? A: Waxenecker reads part of the court’s sentencing of the 7 men (I believe) convicted of the murder. It refers to someone offering a quantity of money to Henry Hernandez to carry out an action but it was not shown in trial that the payment was made and what actors made the payment, including any payments from DESA.
Q: [Missed the question]. A: I looked at the indictment. The economic resources was part of the motivation behind the murder and Castillo was in a position of power with the ability to access company resources. I problematized DESA’s access to resources. I didn’t examine this any more because I didn’t have the financial information. There has to be a deeper financial investigation.
Q: On pg. 53, last paragraph, [missed question because of the objections]. A: On pg. 53, third paragraph, I refer to the available economic resources of the project. This is what I have argued and explained as part of the contradictions and also motives. I emphasize in this paragraph that there was 15 million USD and 24 million USD in financing to DESA. I made this emphasis to show that there was sufficient financial resources to make payments but I don’t establish a concrete relationship of how this was done.
Q: Who authorized you to use file number 388 for the analysis? A: I received an email on March 22 with this information, exactly 4 days before I had to submit my analysis to the court. I was authorized to use it.
Q: You spoke about about the loan from the FMO, who administered that money that was put in a trust? A: I don’t have concrete contracts, this is not part of the analysis. The focus was on the execution and implementation of the project by DESA.
Q: Who had the administration of the trust of DESA’s assets? A: This is not part of my analysis.
A: Why on Pg. 51 do you detail the loans given by the banks to DESA? A: I included it to show the financial - that there is a dispute that has to do with a lot of money. This is a motive to exercise violence and that there would have been sufficient resources to commit the murder. I attempted to understand this process and describe that financial resources were available.
Q: If the money was administered by Banco FICENSA, then why do you say that it could have been used to pay hitman? A: The details or mechanisms and the availability of the resources and administration of them, in general terms should be understood in terms of function. I have to look at a financial analysis of the company to understand this.
Q: What expertise do you have in the topic of trusts? A: I don’t have any expertise in that area
Q: What influences did COPINH and Berta Cáceres have on other projects? A: This was not the focus of my analysis
Q: Did Berta Cáceres receive threats from the money she received from the Goldman Prize? A: This was not part of my analysis
Q: When have you given a public opinion about Berta Cáceres’s murder? A: I haven’t given an opinion
Q: Go to pg. 48, from where did you get the information about the company PRODERSSA? Objection
Q: You talk about a relationship with the Rivera Maradiagas, what information do you have about the processes against the family Mejía in relation to the company INRAMAR? A: I made reference to this in a footnote.
Q: Who is part of PRODERSSA? A: It is not clear in the public documents about the selling and transactions of shares to Castillo and PEMSA. It’s a confusing process because of the dates, according to the information from public documents.
Q: What legal documents did you review? I looked at the public registry of PRODERSSA from March 19, 2014 and the contract between them and UPOWER [shows the documents to the court on his screen]
Q: In the communication network, you said there were several numbers that were not identified - why did you say they are important in the network analysis if you don’t know who they belong to? A: Because they are relevant in the communications network. You have to broaden the investigation to determine who these numbers belong to.
Last updated: June 12 at 12:35 pm
Expert Harald Waxenecker was questioned by Castillo’s attorneys all day. The questioning will continue tomorrow morning at 9 am.
A screenshot of Harald Waxenecker as he testifies from Austria. Picture from COPINH
Q: What is your definition of social networks? A: In the bibliography, I cite the authors of the term.
Q: You cite many authors, can you give the literal definition of social network? A: On page 7 is where I discuss this - its the relational networks between actors. (Waxenecker names the scholars that discuss the term)
Q: What do social networks consist of? A: They are constituted by nodes, actors, and the relationship between them. This is different from social systems, because social networks describe the position of distinct actors. I refer to the social actors and their relationship within the social realm inside society. The forms of relationships can be mulitple and the concept is one that is interdisciplinary. It was constructed and adapted during the development of theories starting in the 1990s. In the study, I use the phone calls and actors as the nodes and look at the interrelationships between them. This is one of the ways to approach social networks but the conceptualization comes from sociology. Social networks or relations can be very complex and have multiple spheres (work, social, family, etc). We are social beings and all of this is included in this theoretical concept.
Q: What are the social networks that exist and are used in the social network analysis? A: I think its important to emphasize the existence of social networks. It’s not feasible to just speak of existing social networks - there are social networks that exist between actors based on how they are related and form the network. I make reference to one form that I have used in another analysis. You can say that an executive has a relationship with a person who then has a relationship with another. This forms a network, a social network with business-like characteristics. The same is when you look at, for example, how relationships influence learning in a school. X person can say they are friends with Y but Y may say they aren’t - this is not a mutual relationship. They exist in all realms in our lives and we have multiple types of these networks.
Q: What does “social network analysis” mean since it’s written in English? A: It means analisis de redes sociales
Q: What is Facebook? Objection
Q: What is the difference between communication in social networks and private communication? A: Facebook is not what I’m speaking about. I can’t answer that question in those terms because in a way, it’s a virtual platform that involves relationships. It can be subject to analysis and studied but I don’t focus on that.
Q: What mechanisms do you have to follow and view private communications? Objection
Q: If you analysis isn’t about social networks virtually, then why do you use this tool in your study? Objection
Q: Why don’t you do an analysis on the Castillo’s military position - why did you say that being a sub-Lieutenant, that Castillo had an important position in the military? A: You have to contextual the position that Castillo had. You have to interpret it looking at his relationships with the Army and the National Electrical Energy Company (ENEE).
Q: What is the context? A: The context is 2009, that’s the same year when there was a critical contextual change in the country and within that, the acquisition process of contracts from the ENEE.
Q: You said that Castillo left the army in 2008 - why did you say that in 2009 he had an important position in the military? A: A central element that is key is to establish through analysis, where Castillo was working in 2009 and 2010 and above all, when the licensing occurred and when the contract was adjudicated. In this context, you have to locate Castillo. I understand that he was involved in the Army from 2008 and at the same time, he was a Management Coordinator inside the ENEE.
Q: Then how did you conclude that he had key positions in the military? Objection
Q: Let’s look at Castillo’s position in ENEE, what aspects do you have to consider to understand whether a person is in a position of power in an institution? A: You have to examine it in context, the context that surrounds the person - what position the person has inside the institution, what relationships they have. In this sense, you can emphasize Castillo’s position to an operator that is part of a network. That is precisely the phenomenon of power that I analyzed.
Q: What is an articulated operator? A: He has the possibility of obtaining information and access to information as well as access to others in positions of power.
Q: [Didn’t catch question]. A: What I analyzed are the positions around the Agua Zarca contract that takes us to the murder. In relation to that, I analyzed Castillo’s operativity inside the ENEE, the results, and looked at those results in function of his own personal interests. In this manner, the ‘standard model’ that was created occurred in a parallel manner with the bidding process for the contract.
Q: The contracts that were approved in 2010, how many were granted to companies that Castillo was part of? Objection
Q: Of all the contracts, how many were given to companies that Castillo was part of? A: He’s no in any.
Q: If he was in a position of power, why did he not benefit from them? A; The standard model is a distinct element.
Q: What were David Castillo’s functions or role inside the ENEE? A: That was outside of my analysis
Q: Then what position of power did Castillo have over contracts? A: Castillo intervened in his role as technical assistance in the process to create a standard model that was used for the ENEE contract. This would later serve DESA and other projects. This directly shows that Castillo had direct participation. There is a memorandum that demonstrates this.
Q: Who approved the contract, the ENEE board of directors or management? A: The Board of Directors authorized the contracts approved by management.
Q: The study you did - what knowledge do you have if it was the board of directors or the intervention commission? A: I didn’t look at those details
Q: What role did Castillo play in the board? A: He participated in the meetings where they voted on the contract
Q: As an invited individual, what capability did he have? A: It’s a phenomenon that you have to understand in context. If he has access to the process, I read this as proof that he put himself in a key position, in order to receive the contract.
Q: What ability did Castillo have to order the Board of Directors to give him the contract? A: I’m not talking about an analysis of giving an order, I’m talking about administering such contract. I emphasize again that several irregularities occurred.
Q: What opinions, comments - in a concrete manner - describes Castillo’s participation, specifically in the meeting notes? A: I make an emphasis on the layers of informal and formal actions and how they are expressed in these spaces. In one document, you can see that Castillo directly intervened.
Q: What document affirms this? A: A letter that is written by Castillo and signed by [an employee of ENEE but didn’t catch the name]
Q: [Didn’t hear question]. A: The memorandum is dated January 15, 2013 and it’s written to Castillo and it’s giving an opinion to him based on something that Castillo’s requested.
Q: How can you be sure that Castillo’s requested it? A: Cruz Lanza wrote to David Castillo and it says in the document, “In regards to your memorandum … I respond with the following opinion.” He’s giving an opinion based on a request that Castillo made to the legal adviser
Q: In your experience, why was it necessary to create a standard process for contracts? A: The request is in the memorandum on pg. 31. It makes reference to the fact that the company was disqualified from the bidding process - there were other companies also disqualified, and for this reason, they created a parallel process.
Q: What participation did the Congress play in the approval of such contracts? A: I focused more on the ratification. The Congress ratified the contracts
Q: Why do you say they ratified them when in your analysis, it says the Congress approved them? A: I refer to the more correct term which is ratification. In the same manner, these procedures are outlined in the document published by La Gaceta
Q: In your power analysis, why was it necessary for ENEE to go to SERNA and then for the contract to be approved in the Congress? A: In the approval process, various institutions are involved.
Q: [Missed questions]. A: I located Castillo as an operator through his position and relationship of power in the institutions. And when I located him inside a network, this means that he cannot act alone - others participate in the process so it’s not just a vertical structure, it’s a more complex, inter-relational relationship.
Q: In your presentation on slide 75, you said that Castillo received two salaires? Objection
Q: In what months did Castillo work in both institutions? A: I referenced a document emitted by the Honduran Auditing Commission (TSC by it’s Spanish acronym), but I did not go beyond that.
Q: How did you verify this in order to conclude what you did? A: I based this on the document from the TSC that says that Castillo worked with the Army in 2006 and then in 2008 in the ENEE as part of the military.
Q: On pg. 6, where did yo uget the concept “system crime”? A: I cited the academics that discuss this term
Q: This concept - is it a sociological concept or criminal? A: It is based in sociology
Q: If you have this knowledge, how would you interpret this criminal system? A: I emphasize two academics because they try to describe criminal phenomenons to support the engagement with the penal system so that there are better tools from a judicial point of view, to understand this type of criminality.
Q: What process did the Congress have? A: I cant give an example, the MACCIH is an institution that allows for exceptional interinstitutional coordination. This is an example of exceptionalism
Q: Who authorized you to use the legal file xyz (didn’t catch the number)? A: I received it in an email from the court secretary.
Q: Why did you take into account other public documents of companies in your analysis? A: Because it’s public information [as in, he didn’t need to get the court’s authorization to use it]
Q: Who authorized you to access the Panamanian company registry? A: It’s public
Last Update: June 10 at 10:00 pm
Expert Harald Waxenecker continued on the stand and was questioned by the prosecutors, the other team of private accusers, and began to answer questions from the defense’s technical consultant, controversial Honduran teacher, Edgardo Rodríguez. Tomorrow at 9 am, Waxenecker will continue being questioned by Castillo’s defense team.
More soon.
Last update: June 9 at 7:15 pm
Expert witness Waxenecker concluded his expert analysis stating that David Castillo’s position of power, his institutional relationships and respective business circles, motivated and materialized Berta’s murder in the context of the implementation of the Agua Zarca project. Waxenecker also concluded that the principal cause of the murder was the dispute surrounding the “appropriated environment” (the Gualcarque river) and efforts of the power networks mentioned in his analysis, to profit from the Agua Zarca project.
Tomorrow at 9 am, Waxenecker will be questioned by the prosecutors and the defense. Then Berta Zúniga Cáceres is expected to testify bringing an end to the evidence presented by the legal teams representing the Cáceres family.
Image published by COPINH. “Communication hierarchy of the criminal network behind Berta Cáceres’s murder”
David Castillo’s position and power relations motivated and made the materialization of Berta Cácere’s murder possible through, 1. Institutional and and business relationships in the context of the adjudication and implementation of energy projects in Honduras, specifically the Agua Zarca dam. This conditioned the motive of the crime, 2. Castillo’s power resources available to him made the planning, coordination and execution of the murder, possible.
The murder occurred in the context of the social contradictions caused by the Agua Zarca dam.
Waxenecker used the following conceptual frameworks: “politicized nature,” illicit political-economic networks, and power: resources, relationships.
The contextual conditions of the murder: Process of liberalization of the energy market; the post-coup context; the deformations of the energy market in Honduras.
Characterizing David Castillo’s position of power:
Political-Institutional position of power in the post-coup context: In the Armed Forces, ENEE, and DESA
Polycontextual character: His military circles, institutional circles, and economic circles, all of which, overlapped.
Public-private and political-economic networks: Access to privileged information, involvement with organized crime.
Use of power
Civic Council of Popular & Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH) WEBSITE & BLOG (SPANISH)
COPINH WEBSITE (English)
Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH)
BROAD MOVEMENT FOR JUSTICE AND DIGNITY (MADJ) (SPANISH)
HONDURAS SOLIDARITY NETWORK (ENGLISH)
SYDNEY WITH HONDURAS (ENGLISH)
