Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below.

FROM OUR PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES

WE INDIGENOUS AUTHORITIES DECLARE:

1. Our emphatic rejection of the Public Prosecutor’s actions against the former Vice Mayor of the Indigenous Municipality of Sololá (2022 – 2023),  Esteban Toc Tzay, who was arrested today at 11:00 a.m. by the National Civil Police (PNC) as he was traveling to the city of Quetzaltenango to receive medical treatment. The PNC took him to the substation in the Totonicapán capital, later relocated him to the San Cristóbal Totonicapán substation, and finally to the Regional Justice Center in the city of Quetzaltenango. We understand that for this same case the leaders of the 48 cantons of Totonicapán, Luis Pachecho and Héctor Chaclán, are being held.

2. Our ancestral indigenous authorities, our communities, and our People’s organizations are a legacy from our ancestors and are not criminal organizations, as the Public Prosecutor pretends to claim.

3. We express our solidarity with Esteban Toc Tzay and his family; and we condemn these acts of racism, discrimination, and criminalization of our People exercising their rights.

4. We demand forceful action from the President of the Republic against this criminal prosecution that the pacto de corruptos and insurgent cabal maintain against Indigenous Authorities, human rights defenders, and journalists.

5. We demand that the Judiciary appoint objective and impartial judges to hea these cases of criminalization fabricated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and like-minded prosecutors. We also demand that the judge determining this case value and observe judicial independence, objectivity, and impartiality, and not go along with the whims of criminalization fabricated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office against those she considers her political enemies.

6. We demand that the international community take a stand and condemn these repressive actions carried out by the Public Prosecutor, along with other prosecutors, judges, and magistrates who are part of the pacto de corruptos.

7. We warn all Indigenous People and communities throughout the country to take the precautions and security measures they see as necessary to avoid the continued criminalization of our Authorities. If they do not leave us alone, we will not leave them alone either.

From our territories August 28, 2025.