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 ›
Maya Q'eqchi
Indigenous Maya Q’eqchi’ Denounce Eviction Threats of New Communities in El Estor
Aldo Santiago writes in Avispa Midia about the threat of forced displacement facing Indigenous Q’eqchi’ communities in the Polochic Valley. Resource extraction, for the benefit of local elites and the international market, continues to take a heavy toll on Indigenous… Read More ›
Guatemala Mourns Murder of Peasants’ Rights Defenders
Grassroots International posted a press release into the murders of José Alberto Domingo Montejo and Marcelo Yaxón Pablo, within the context of attacks on grassroots social movements by those allied to corrupt state actors. Tensions between Guatemala’s right-wing Pacto de… Read More ›
GHRC alert condemning the violence against Indigenous Q’eqchi community
GHRC recently issued an alert condemning the violence perpetrated by State security forces against the Indigenous Q’eqchi community in Chapin Abajo, El Estor. Read the full statement above.
‘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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Audio – International court case pits mining interests against Indigenous land rights
Maria Martin hosts a short piece on NPR Radio on a court case being brought to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights by the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente Lote 9. She speaks with attorney Carlos Pop, representing the… Read More ›
Indigenous community takes Guatemalan land rights fight to international court
Sandra Cuffe write in Mongabay about a community in north east Guatemala, Agua Caliente Lote 9, which is taking a case, against the Guatemala State, to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The case relates to land rights and, if… Read More ›
María Choc: life between awaiting trial and a state of siege
The Q’eqchi’ human rights defender has been waiting for three years for her legal situation to be resolved. Her situation is aggravated in a context of restriction of rights caused by a state of siege. Jody García writes in la… Read More ›