Chelsea Carrick writes in NACLA on Indigenous struggle and land rights in Guatemala, especially with reference to rising global food and consumer prices. On April 26 and 27, Guatemalans demonstrated throughout the country, blocking roads and demanding an end to… Read More ›
Indigenous peoples
We are Nature Defending Itself
Indigenous communities like the Maya K’iche people represent the alternatives to the Anthropocene. Their knowledge and culture can allow the rest of us to imagine a new future. Andrea Ixchíu Hernández writes in Culture Hack Labs about how the Maya… Read More ›
EJ Atlas: Lote Ocho – El Estor, Lake Izabal, Guatemala
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 ›
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 ›
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: 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 ›
Military Diary Case – updates
The Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) continues to provide regular updates on the Military Diary Case. From the latest, dated April 6th.. During the sixth session of the Intermediary Phase, The Human Rights Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office… Read More ›
“Yes to life, no to mining:” An update on the Xinka resistance to the Escobal mine
NISGUA has published an update on the Xinka resistance to the Escobal mine. For over a decade, impacted communities have resisted the illegally-imposed Escobal mine. Tahoe Resources, a U.S.-Canadian company, first opened the mine, which is on one of the… Read More ›
The Hidden Story of a Notorious Guatemalan Nickel Mine
Sandra Cuffe writes in The Intercept about the situation in El Estor and the global investigation that uncovered a multitude of documents highlighting corruption at the very highest level, impacting those that live there. It is a grim tale. Cristóbal… Read More ›