Earlier this year, La Puya celebrated its 13th anniversary as a Comunidad en Resistencia in oppostion to the imposition of a gold mine on its territory. Derik Mazariegos posted an article on the celebrations in Prensa Comunitaria. On March 2,… Read More ›
Indigenous peoples
Criminalization and Judicial Terrorism against Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala
The recent arrests of two Maya leaders is emblematic of increasing repression and criminalization of Indigenous peoples by the Guatemalan state. Giovanni Batz writes in NACLA of the recent arrests of the Indigenous Maya leaders, Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán,… Read More ›
“It saddens me that Semilla has been unable to uphold the party’s values”
Yuliana Ramazzini writes in El Faro English of the fracturing of Movimiento Semilla, the party of Bernardo Arévalo, and talks with Social anthropologist Irma Alicia Velásquez Nimatuj, a Maya K’iche’ social anthropologist who participated more than a decade ago in… Read More ›
GHRC – El Quetzal (Summer 2025)
The Summer 2025 edition of El Quetzal, from The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC), has recently been published. It features an interview with Eva Siomara Sosa, a former prosecutor who worked as sub-director of the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity… Read More ›
Legal investigation into legitimacy of mining licenses of Montreal-based Central America Nickel in Guatemala
Rights Action has posted a translation of an article by Simon Antonio Ramon, published in Prensa Comunitaria. The piece is followed by a Rights Action commentary looking at the Corrupt government of President Giammattei, Hypocrisy in U.S. and Canada, and… Read More ›
BTS – 2024 Year in Review
The Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) recently published their annual review for 2024. The report not only celebrates their accomplishments over the last year, it also recognizes the incredible contributions of their partners, staff, cooperants, interns, volunteers, and donors!… Read More ›
Indigenous Women Survivors of Guatemala’s Rape Camps Seek Justice
Forty years after surviving state violence, Maya Achi women return to court to demand justice, challenging a long legacy of impunity for crimes against humanity. Jo-Marie Burt, Paulo Estrada and Keily Colíndres write in NACLA Report about the long struggle… Read More ›
Defence of Human Rights is sustained despite Cooptation of the Justice System
The Guatemalan Human Rights Defenders Protection Unit (UDEFEGUA) presented its 2024 Report on the Situation of Individuals, Organisations, and Communities Defending Human Rights, entitled “Impact of the Co-optation of the Justice System on the Defence of Human Rights.” It provides… Read More ›
The Massacre of a Trial for Genocide
Benedicto Lucas García, a parachutist trained by France and the United States, was an iconic leader of the Guatemalan counterinsurgency. Decades after the horror, as some of the remaining Maya Ixil victims made the trek from the mountains of Quiché… Read More ›
Guatemala: Indigenous Leaders Face Terrorism Charges
International Scrutiny Needed as Attorney General Ramps Up Abusive Prosecutions Human Rights Watch recently issued a News Release concerning the criminalisation of Indigenous leaders by the Attorney General’s office. Guatemala’s Attorney General’s Office has detained two Indigenous leaders on spurious… Read More ›