The 2023 Human Rights Award from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is awarded to Guatemalan Indigenous rights group, Parlamento del Pueblo Xinka (Parliament of the Xinka People). The Parlamento del Pueblo Xinka (Parliament of the Xinka People) is the Assembly… Read More ›
Guatemala
Statement Supporting UDEFEGUA Director Jorge Santos
The Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns (OGC) is one of twenty one organisations offering their support to Jorge Santos, director of the Unit for the Protection of Rights Defenders in Guatemala (UDEFEGUA). They state that Guatemala currently faces rampant corruption… Read More ›
The Massacre of Rancho Bejuco
David Toro Escobar writes in La Prensa Latina about the trial of nine former members of the Guatemalan army regarding the 1982 massacre of Rancho Bejuco. Of the 25 indigenous Achi Maya peoples killed, 17 were children. Rancho Bejuco, is… Read More ›
elPeriódico Forced to Close as Ninth Defense Attorney Takes on Zamora Case
Julie López and Roman Gressier write in El Faro about the ongoing attack against anti-corruption actors through the lens of the attack on the news outlet elPeriódico and its founder José Rubén Zamora. It is a cautionary tale but one… Read More ›
Peaceful Resistance of La Puya expects ICSID ruling in June as consultation process on El Tambor mine set to start this summer
On March 2, 2012, area residents, who had not been consulted about this mine, set up a 24-hour a day blockade at the entrance to the mine site. Within weeks, on May 8, 2012, the women of the Peaceful Resistance… Read More ›
Four-Year Sentence of Anti-Corruption Leader Deals a Blow to Guatemalan Democracy
Carolina Jiménez Sandoval and Isabel Carlota Roby write in El Faro English about the detention and conviction of Guatemalan public prosecutor Virginia Laparra after she alleged corruption within the judiciary. They describe the misogynistic treatment they received as female visitors… Read More ›
“With the Death Squad Dossier, I understood that Guatemala is designed for impunity”
“Look, international cooperation is ending….There’s a lack of interest at the political level to force Guatemala to return to the rule of law.” José Luis Sanz, from El Faro, spoke to Miguel Ángel Gálvez, who has been forced into exile… Read More ›
International legal experts gravely concerned at lack of protections for Indigenous peoples and human rights defenders in Guatemala
Peace Brigades International UK (PBI-UK) accompanied a group of international lawyers to Guatemala concerned at UN and civil society reports regarding human rights violations associated with agrarian conflict in Alta Verapaz. The International Delegation of Independent Lawyers travelled to Alta… Read More ›
The first trial for the genocide of Indigenous Peoples
We received this note from Pamela Yates and Paco de Onís, of Skylight, relating to the genocide trial of Efraín Ríos Montt in 2013, which may be of interest. We wanted to share it. Dear Friend, Ten years ago, General… Read More ›
Exclusion of Presidential Candidates Stains June Guatemalan Elections
Inscription for the June national vote closed this weekend. Electoral authorities, toeing the line of far-right political operatives, have spuriously excluded two presidential duos and are aiming for a third, clearing the way for conservative Zury Rios. Roman Gressier and… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 