Historias Unknown

Berta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary, and a mother. In part 4, Cristina tells Carmen about the harassment and constant surveillance Berta faced before her murder, her murder, the trial and what the latest GIEI report on her case revealed. 

If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/

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This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagram

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Sources

Who Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani
https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.html
https://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdf
https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killed
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/berta-caceres-name-honduran-military-hitlist-former-soldier
Berta Caceres Goldman acceptance speech, 2015
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2016/03/honduras-deep-failures-in-investigation-into-activist-s-killing-put-many-at-risk/
https://www.oas.org/en/IACHR/
https://www.law.berkeley.edu/experiential/clinics/human-rights-clinic/projects-and-cases/featured-reports-and-projects/the-giei-honduras-report-on-the-murder-of-berta-caceres/

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Berta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary (she joined the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War), and a mother. In part three, Cristina tells Carmen about the conditions that led to the Agua Zarca Dam Project.

If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/

Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcast
By joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.

This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagram

Follow on social media:
Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknown
Substack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknown

Historias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bg

Sources

Who Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani 
https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.html
https://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdf
https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killed
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/berta-caceres-name-honduran-military-hitlist-former-soldier
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Honduran_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat#Zelaya's_detention_and_exile
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porfirio_Lobo_Sosa#U.S._drug_trafficking_case_against_Fabio_Lobo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Orlando_Hern%C3%A1ndez

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Berta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary (she joined the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War), and a mother. In part two, Cristina talks about Berta Cáceres' early activity with COPINH, leading up to the PPP plan, which would ultimately be their most dangerous fight. 

If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/

Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcast
By joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.

This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagram

Follow on social media:
Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknown
Substack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknown

Historias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bg

Sources

Who Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani 
https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.html
https://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdf
https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_and_Tribal_Peoples_Convention,_1989
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lempira_(Lenca_ruler)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Miranda
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoamerica_Project
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/21/berta-caceres-name-honduran-military-hitlist-former-soldier

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.

Berta Cáceres was a Lenca indigenous leader, an environmental activist, and a human rights defender. But she was also so much more than that: a beauty pageant queen, a revolutionary (she joined the FMLN during the Salvadoran Civil War), and a mother. In part one, Cristina talks about Berta Cáceres' family, early life, her time with the FMLN, and her work leading up to the cofounding of COPINH in 1993.

If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/

Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcast
By joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.

This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagram

Follow on social media:
Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknown
Substack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknown

Historias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bg

Sources

Who Killed Berta Caceres? Dams, Death Squads, and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet by Nina Lakhani 
https://archive.ph/BsiZB#selection-3399.94-3399.248
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berta_C%C3%A1ceres
https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-02/berta-caceres-and-the-resistance-that-was-born-under-an-oak-tree.html
https://elpais.com/elpais/2016/03/04/planeta_futuro/1457113234_162700.html
https://www.gaipe.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Represa-de-Violencia-ES-FINAL-.pdf
https://www.internationalrivers.org/news/remembering-river-defender-berta-caceres/
https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/honduras-berta-caceres-killed
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Honduras_(1932%E2%80%931982)

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/historias-unknown--6253658/support.

The birth control pill revolutionized women’s independence in the US and so many places, but came at the cost of Puerto Rican women, who were experimented on without consent in the birth control trials of the 1950’s. One third of the island’s women were sterilized during these trials. And one woman stood out in the fight against this injustice, she was Dr Helen Rodriguez Trias

If you have topic suggestions, feel free to email [email protected] or use the contact us form on the website https://www.historiasunknown.com/contact/

Want ad free episodes? And weekly bonus episodes? Support Historias Unknown on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/HistoriasUnknownPodcast
By joining, you can help Historias Unknown donate 20% funds to charity.

This month's donation went to CLEAN, carwash worker center, an org that has been helping car wash workers who are unable to leave their homes due to increasing ICE raids in LA county, by providing groceries to over 200 car wash workers. Follow @carwasherxs on instagram

Follow on social media:
Instagram: https : //www.instagram.com/historiasunknown/
Threads: https://www.threads.net/@historiasunknown
Substack: https://substack.com/@historiasunknown

Historias Unknown is on YouTube now! https://youtube.com/@historiasunknown?si=_rmuVXrSQhs5R1bg

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Rodr%C3%ADguez_Tr%C3%ADas
https://massivesci.com/articles/helen-rodriguez-trias-science-heroes/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1447119/
https://web.archive.org/web/20031016140115/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/biography_273.html
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1122157
/https://archive.ph/qzv60
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/9/28/the-bitter-pill/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-puerto-rico-pill-trials/
https://medium.com/the-lily/how-puerto-rican-women-were-used-to-test-the-birth-control-pill-7453a3b6ab73 
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/gregory-pincus-1903-1967/ 
https://womanisrational.uchicago.edu/2022/09/21/margaret-sanger-the-duality-of-a-ambitious-feminist-and-racist-eugenicist/ 
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/pill-dr-john-rock-1890-1984/ 
https://remezcla.com/culture/birth-control-testing-puerto-rico/ 
https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/05/24/oral-contraceptives-history-puerto-rico-testing-massachusetts-ethics 
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/10/10029088/puerto-rico-sterilization-abortion-reproductive-rights-history

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