Damning testimony in a new book reveals the horrific record of Canadian mining companies in Guatemala. Joan Baxter has written in the Canadian publication, Halifax Examiner, about a new book, Testimonio: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala,… Read More ›
Resource Extraction
The Indigenous Leader Targeted for Protecting His People’s Land
The case of Bernardo Caal Xol is featured on this video from VICE as part of the Amnesty International campaign ‘Write For Rights’. “Why am I in jail? For denouncing what they are doing to the rivers, defending what little… Read More ›
Guatemala Cracks Down on Q’eqchi’ Resistance in El Estor
In the latest episode of a lengthy saga of repression and resistance, Maya communities demanding to be consulted about a foreign-owned nickel mine in their territories now live under a state of siege. Vaclav Masek writes in NACLA on the… Read More ›
Where Impunity Reigns: Nickel Mining in El Estor, Guatemala
James Rodríguez wrote an article for Latin American Perspectives on El Estor, looking at the history of the mine, including the history of state violence against those that live in the Q’eqchi’ Mayan territory. The violence goes back to at… Read More ›
Demand That State Cease Excessive Violence
In response to the events at El Estor, the above statement was released jointly, yesterday, by Atlantic Regional Solidarity Network (ARSN), Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS-RES), Human Rights Defenders Project, Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC), Guatemalanetz Bern, Protection International… Read More ›
Violence Against Q’eqchi’ Community In El Estor
The above statement was released by UDEFEGUA in response to the violence carried out by state forces against the Q’eqchi’ population in El Estor protesting against the open-pit Fénix nickel mine owned by Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN). My translation… Read More ›
Guatemala’s growing palm oil industry fuels Indigenous land fight
Sandra Cuffe writes in Al Jazeera about the ongoing land struggles in Guatemala primarily focusing on palm oil production, its destructive legacies, and Indigenous resistance. Anibal Agurtia blows into the conch shell tied to a red string around his hand,… Read More ›
“It’s not tiring for us to be here”: Anti-mining resistance in Guatemala
Avispa Midia published a piece on a non-violent, anti-mining resistance encampment situated in El Estor. The camp is looking to highlight violence being carried out against the local Q’eqchi’ people and has garnered support from other indigenous groups in Guatemala…. Read More ›
The struggle for water, forests, land and the defence of the collective does not end with criminalisation
ACOGUATE has published a piece about the struggle of the Maya Ch’orti’ people in the face of continuous attacks, both physical and legal, the latter especially through the criminalisation of activists in defence of land and water. For defending water,… Read More ›
GHRC Updates: State Accountability – Laguna Larga, and the Massacre at La Cumbre de Alaska
The Guatemala Human Rights Commission (GHRC) has recently posted a couple of updates we wanted to share. The first is on the situation at Laguna Larga, and the second on the massacre at La Cumbre de Alaska, which took place… Read More ›
Guatemala Solidarity Network 