After decades of resistance against HudBay minerals and other firms, including court cases in Guatemala and Canada, the local Mayan Q’eqchi’ community managed to stop nickel mining in 2020 officially. The Environmental Justice Atlas is a great resource and it… Read More ›
Human Rights
Amid Impunity Concerns, Guatemalan Courts Advance with War Crimes Cases
Jeff Abbott has written a piece for The Progressive, reflecting on the progress of the Diario Militar (“Death Squad Dossier”) case and its progress through the Guatemalan courts, and which is to reach a conclusion very soon. Mayarí de León… Read More ›
The Exile of Guatemala’s Anti-Corruption Efforts
Jonathan Blitzer writes in The New Yorker on the group of judges and prosecutors who had been investigating Guatemala’s most powerful officials and who had been forced to flee their homeland. It shows the willingness of the State, and the… Read More ›
Trial for “Death Squad Dossier” Ties Guatemalan Wartime Atrocities to Current Criminal Networks
Jo-Marie Burt and Paulo Estrada write in El Faro on the Diario Militar, or ‘Death Squad Dossier’ trial, currently taking place in Guatemala. The trial is continuing against a backdrop of sustained attacks on judicial independence and threats against human… Read More ›
Guatemala’s Attorney General Elections: Judicial Independence and Democracy at a Crossroads
Ana María Méndez Dardón and Julia Aikman Cifuentes write in WOLA on the challenges facing an independent judiciary and the consequences for Guatemala’s commitment to fighting impunity when these are essential components of a democratic state. The persecution of independent… Read More ›
They Left Guatemala for Opportunities in the United States. Now They Want to Help Others Stay
Ciara Nugent writes in TIME about the challenges and rewards of utilising remittances that are sent back from the United States. New initiatives are suggesting alternative visions for families and for economic and social empowerment of communities through remittance co-ops… Read More ›
Guatemala: As COVID misinformation spreads, vaccine doses expire
Jeff Abbott writes in Al Jazeera about the low take up of the COVID vaccine in Guatemala, the reasons for this, including conspiracy theorists, and the consequences regarding the expiration of the doses that were available. This is something to… Read More ›
Guatemala 2021 Human Rights Report
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, of the U.S. State Department, recently published its 2021 Human Rights Report for Guatemala and it does not make for comfortable reading. The Executive Summary concludes with: Impunity continued to be widespread…. Read More ›
Guatemala: High Stakes for Attorney General’s Nomination
Human Rights Watch has posted a note regarding the nomination process for the election of the new Attorney General to succeed María Consuelo Porras. HRW has also highlighted the role of The Foundation against Terrorism (FCT) in trying to undermine… Read More ›
Press Release – Concerns About Guatemala’s Attorney General Election Process
Various international organisations recently communicated a Press Release presented their concern over the election process for the new Attorney General to succeed María Consuelo Porras. Given that the incumbent appears to be, again, in the application process appears to suggest… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 