"In The Valley of Death" / Seth Berry
Aguan Valley, Honduras 2019- current
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In northern Honduras, the Aguan Valley has become one of the deadliest regions in the world for land and environmental defenders. Since the 1990s, palm oil companies—most notably the Dinant Corporation have taken over tens of thousands of acres of farmland. Much of this land was allegedly acquired illegally from campesino (peasant) communities who had farmed it for generations.
After a military coup in 2009, campesinos began reoccupying the land they believed had been stolen. In the years since, over 200 land defenders have been killed. Human rights groups have linked the violence to the Honduran military, national police, private security forces, and contract killers working with corporate interests.
The conflict escalated in 2014 when the Honduran government approved a mining concession inside Carlos Escaleras National Park—an ecologically protected area vital to the region’s water supply. The mine is owned by Facussé’s daughter and her husband. Activists opposing the mine have faced imprisonment, intimidation, and targeted killings. In January 2023 alone, five environmental defenders were murdered.
In 2019 documentary photographer Seth Berry began reporting on the perilous conditions in the Aguan Valley. By working closely with community members and local organizers Seth has gained a hyper-proximate view of the continuing on-the-ground realities faced by the campesinos.
About Seth Berry
Seth Berry is a documentary photographer based in Honduras, where he focuses on human rights, environmental justice, and cultural resistance across Central America. His work often examines the root causes of migration in a region marked by extreme poverty, state corruption, and violence against indigenous communities and land defenders.
His photography has appeared in The Intercept, The Nation, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and more. Seth was a finalist for the 2022 Gomma Grant and has participated in leading mentorship programs including Vital Impacts (led by Ami Vitale) and Anderson Ranch’s three-year cohort with Ed Kashi and James Estrin. He is also an alumnus of the Eddie Adams Workshop (XXXV), the Missouri Photo Workshop (MPW75), and was selected for the 2025 New York Times Portfolio Review.
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