Criminalisation, and the use of ‘lawfare’, is being used increasingly against individuals, and groups, seeking to defend human rights in Guatemala. This is especially true with regard to those working to protect the environment. This can be seen through a… Read More ›
Resource Extraction
The Jungle Patrol: Fighting Illegal Loggers on the Guatemala-Mexico Border
Alejandro Melgoza and Alex Papadovassilakis present an important and fascinating report, on InSight Crime, into how a shadowy timber mafia, with ties to Asia, is illegally extracting precious wood on the Guatemala-Mexico border. They document how illegal loggers have ravaged… Read More ›
Wounds Reopened: The Impacts of Democratic Backsliding on Human Rights in Guatemala
GHRC/USA led an Emergency Human Rights Delegation to Guatemala to document the impacts of the democratic backsliding and destruction of rule of law on human rights defenders. The delegation met with, among others, defenders, lawyers, journalists, Indigenous land defenders, and… Read More ›
‘The Indigenous Women of Guatemala had the Courage to Break the Silence’
Josefina Salomón and Sergio Ortiz Borbolla spoke with Dr. Jo-Marie Burt, a Senior Fellow at WOLA, about the historic importance of two gender violence trials, that of the Maya Q’eqchi’ women of Sepur Zarco, and of the Maya Achi women… Read More ›
Guatemalan Judge under Threat after Ordering Trial in 1980s “Death Squad Dossier” Case
Jo-Marie Burt and Paulo Estrada have written a powerful piece in El Faro on the ‘Death Squad Diary’ case (Diario Militar) moving through the Guatemala justice system. It also talks of the bravery of the families of the victims and… Read More ›
Fighting for Food Sovereignty in Guatemala
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 ›
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 ›
“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 ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 