Four military captured for the disappearance of Marco Antonio Molina Theissen
The following statement was released by the Public Prosecutor’s office on January 6, 2016. Translation by NISGUA. On January 6, 2016, the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Human Rights coordinated the capture of four members of the Guatemala Army in charge of the Military Zone “GMLB” of Quetzaltenango. Those arrested are suspected of having participated in the forced disappearance of [...]
Benedicto Lucas García and other high-ranking military arrested on charges of crimes against humanity
"We are talking about one of the biggest cases of forced disappearance in Latin America." - Thelma Aldana, Guatemala Attorney General Major arrests were made yesterday morning related to cases of crimes against humanity and forced disappearances committed between 1981 and 1988 by former high-ranking military officers. The remains of 558 people have been found at 4 different sites at the CREOMPAZ military base [...]
Tahoe Resources’ Former Security Manager Turns Fugitive
(Guatemala City/Ottawa/Tatamagouche) On Monday, plaintiffs in the criminal case against Tahoe Resources’ former security manager, Alberto Rotondo, were informed that he had escaped police custody. Rotondo is accused of having ordered private security guards to attack peaceful protestors outside the Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala on April 27, 2013, wounding seven men. “This demonstrates that the Guatemalan justice system, [...]
Step into the House of Memory
Earlier this year, the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) inaugurated the permanent installation of the Casa de la Memoria, an art exhibit that empowers youth to reconstruct their historical memory through the creation of personal and collective identity. NISGUA accompanier Kayla Myers takes us on a photographic tour of the Casa, guiding us through exhibits that document [...]
Land defenders Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez absolved of all charges but remain in prison
On October 28, 2015, a Quetzaltenango Femicide Tribunal unanimously voted to absolve political prisoners Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez of the crimes of femicide and homicide. The Tribunal rejected every single witness presented by the prosecution and questioned the political motives behind the Public Prosecutor's decision to begin investigation of a crime three years after it took place. Saúl [...]
B.C. Supreme Court Stays Lawsuit against Tahoe Resources, Denies Justice in Canada for Guatemalan Victims
Source: Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network - MiningWatch Canada - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (Ottawa/Oakland/Tatamagouche) Canadian and US organizations are calling a British Columbia judge’s refusal to hear a lawsuit against Tahoe Resources over violence at its Guatemala mine site wilfully blind to the gravity of the case and the obstacles faced by the victims in [...]