Part 2: Community Power, Building the Future Reminder of the first part In the first part of the interview, we met Rafael and José from the New Dawn Elementary School, who shared with us the origins and evolution of the Mother Earth Festival in the community of Copal AA [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. STATEMENT PARLIAMENT OF THE XINKA PEOPLE OF GUATEMALA TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC In recent weeks, intentionally and in bad faith, there has been false information circulated [...]
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 [...]
Part 1: Origins and Evolution of a Community Struggle About this Interview This conversation took place during the 11th Mother Earth Festival, held in June 2025 in the community of Copal AA “La Esperanza,” Guatemala. Organized annually by the local elementary school, Instituto Básico “Nuevo Amanecer”, the festival brings [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. THE DEPARTMENTAL ASSEMBLY OF THE PEOPLES OF HUEHUETENANGO IN DEFENSE OF THE TERRITORY AND FOR THE AUTONOMY AND SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLES – ADH – sends [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. THE MAYA CH'ORTI INDIGENOUS COUNCIL OF OLOPA, CHIQUIMULA COMMUNICATES As Indigenous Authorities representing 16 Maya Ch'orti' communities of the municipality of Olopa, Chiquimula, we continue [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. ADH MARCHES ON: 19 years of struggle to defend our territory This July 25, 2025, the PEOPLES' ASSEMBLY OF HUEHUETENANGO FOR THE DEFENSE OF OUR TERRITORY AND FOR [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. CAMPAIGN LAUNCH ESCAZÚ-SIGN FOR LIFE The Youth Commission of the Parliament of the Xinka People of Guatemala, with the firm commitment to protect the environment, the [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. // Puedes encontrar el comunicado original en español más abajo. Before public opinion, national and international, we make public our concern: THE PEOPLE'S ASSEMBLY OF HUEHUETENAGO [...]
[Español a continuación] Some stories demand to be heard—not just because they inspire, but because they show us what's possible when communities refuse to accept the unacceptable. "Voz de la Nación Xinka" is one of those stories. This four-episode podcast series documents the extraordinary resistance of the Xinka people [...]
Today, we commemorate eight years of peaceful resistance by the Xinka People here in Casillas to the Escobal mining project located in San Rafael Las Flores and operated by the transnational company, Pan American Silver. This date represents not only an anniversary, but a symbol of dignity, persistence [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. // Puedes encontrar el comunicado original en español más abajo. Xinka Alaya' Wiriki' Voice of the Xinka Nation of Guatemala MANG TORO ALAXA DEMONSTRATIONS ARE NOT [...]
Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below. // Puedes encontrar el comunicado original en español más abajo. The Xinka Parliament of Guatemala After more than fifteen years of peaceful resistance defending our rights—to [...]
ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITIES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT, DEFENSE OF THE LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES (ACODET) At this 2025 General Assembly, the communities threatened by the construction of the Xalalá dam reaffirm our commitment to continue caring for and defending the sacred territory that makes up the Chixoy and Copón river [...]
Integrantes de la Asamblea Departamental de los Pueblos de Huehuetenango (ADH) asistieron a un intercambio de defensores de la tierra de El Salvador, Honduras y Guatemala. Lea el comunicado que compartieron exigiendo la protección del agua, la tierra y las comunidades, además de una reflexión de une Internacionalista de [...]
Includes: The Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR) denounces the dismissal of the tribunal in the Maya Ixil genocide case against Manuel Benedicto Lucas García. They point to this derailment of the case as blatant impunity and will continue to fight for justice. Organizers from the Departmental Assembly of [...]
Organizers from the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) attended a gathering of land defenders from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. Read their shared statement demanding protection of water, land, and communities, as well as a reflection from a NISGUA Internacionalista: Watching the U.S. election results come [...]
On July 26, 2024, over a hundred people joined the Departmental Assembly of the People of Huehuetenango in Defense of Territory and for the Autonomy and Free Determination of the People -ADH- in celebrating their anniversary in Aguacatán, Huehuetenango, the latest municipality to win a water protection agreement in [...]
The community of Copal AA La Esperanza was established in 1994 by Guatemalan refugees returning from exile in Mexico. They lived in exile for a decade due to the state policy of genocide in Guatemala during the Internal Armed Conflict. On June 6th and 7th of 2024, the [...]
On June 6-7, 2024, the community of Copal AA- a community of returnees from Mexico after the Internal Armed Conflict (IAC) and leader of the fight against a hydroelectric dam- celebrated their tenth Festival on the Environment. The festival [...]
Youth in Copal AA march towards the river with signs denouncing contamination of the earth and water. Photo by NISGUA internacionalistas. Jóvenes de Copal AA marchan hacia el río con carteles que denuncian la contaminación de la tierra y el agua. Fotografía por internacionalistas de NISGUA (Español [...]
Photograph by: NISGUA. Board inside the Peaceful Resistance of Casillas, May 2024. This June 7 marked the 7th anniversary of the "Casillas Resistance" that the Xinka people have been maintaining to defend their territory against the Escobal mine, which since 2011 has been illegally installed in their territory [...]
John Sutton, presente! John Sutton, tireless community leader for peoples' liberation struggles, has left a void that is impossible to fill. His legacy, marked by his unwavering commitment to awareness and action for justice in Guatemala and beyond, will resonate throughout time. John was much more than an activist; [...]
(ESPAÑOL ABAJO) We, the Indigenous and ancestral authorities of the different Indigenous communities of Ixcán, Cobán, and Uspantán that make up the Association of Communities for the Development and Defense of the Land and Natural Resources (ACODET), are convened in the community La Libertad Xalarocjá, in the municipality of [...]
(ESPAÑOL ABAJO) We, representatives of the communities of La Costa Sur, Huehuetenango and the Indigenous Local Government of San Juan Cotzal, have convened in the Ixil territory of K’usal to share and exchange experiences of our wisdom for the defense of territory, reiterating our commitment to search for harmony [...]
The Xinka people maintain a struggle to protect life, water and territory from deadly extractive megaprojects, including the Escobal mine. Their commitment to defend life against transnational corporations has cost them criminalization, injuries, and assassinations. Ten years after the murder of 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso Pacheco in the attack that [...]
[ESPAÑOL ABAJO] By the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango The genocide that the Palestinian people are currently suffering under the irrational force of Israel is indifferent to the world powers, as if Palestinian citizens were not human beings and children of the same God. Palestinians are living [...]
Welcome to the March Solidarity Update! This month, we participated in a series of critical activities and topics that are setting the stage for the field of justice and human rights. We highlight the transitional justice case of the Alaska Summit Massacre, a milestone that represents an important step [...]
![[ENG] The image is a photograph taken at night of the national palace of Guatemala, which is illuminated with artificial lights and you can see the shadows of people looking towards the building. [ESP] La imagen es una fotografía tomada de noche del palacio nacional de Guatemala, que se encuentra iluminado con luces artificiales y se alcanzan a ver las sombras de personas que están mirando hacia el edificio.](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/signal-2024-02-14-142806-320x202.jpeg)
After 106 days of resistance of Indigenous people in the national strike against corruption and in defense of democracy in Guatemala, our partners continue the fight for truth, memory, and justice. In this solidarity update we share with you: a series of interviews with Guatemalan Indigenous leaders during the [...]
(Spanish below) On January 31, Judge Jorge Douglas Ochoa of the Criminal Sentencing Court of the Department of Chiquimula sentenced a commissioner and two agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) for the crime of abuse of authority in the detention of journalist Norma Sancir, who was covering a [...]
![[ENG] Around 10 community members under a yellow roof. In the foreground, a female-presenting person is reading a copy of the Official Journal of Central America. A male-presenting person is holding up a copy of the Official Journal of Central America. [ESP] Alrededor de 10 miembros de la comunidad abajo de una terraza amarilla. En el primer plano, una persona que presenta feminina está leyendo una copia del Diario Oficial de Centroamérica. Un hombre está levantando una copia del Diario Oficial de Centroamérica](https://nisgua.org/wp-content/uploads/signal-2024-01-25-182117_006-320x202.jpeg)
On December 23, 2023, the community of Aguacatán, Huehuetenago celebrated the publication of a Municipal Water Protection Agreement in the Official Journal of Central America (Diario Oficial de Centroamérica). The Water Protection Agreement symbolizes the recognition of Indigenous people’s right to land and water in the Municipal Code, and [...]
We welcome you all to the new year, a year of continuing the struggle and resistance of the people in Guatemala, Palestine, and the whole world. The voices that clamor for the people’s liberation do not cease. We join in solidarity to amplify those voices from where we find [...]
THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE OF GUATEMALA FOR THESE 105 DAYS OF RESISTANCE We have completed 105 days of dignified and historic resistance in defense of democracy, with which we have demonstrated that the power of the people should not be underestimated. When all was thought lost, our organization [...]
"Let us walk hand in hand with the People" Since the last update we shared, the Indefinite National Strike initiated on October 2nd, led by the Ancestral Authorities of different Indigenous peoples throughout the country, and maintained by various sectors of the Guatemalan population, continues. The demand is firm: [...]
Ilustration by Isa Villalón, Internacionalista 2019-2021 On Saturday October 28, 2023, Xinka community leader, 69-year old Noé Gómez Barrera was murdered in the department of Jutiapa, Guatemala. Mr. Noé, much loved and respected by the community, was member of the ancestral authorities of the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala, [...]
We, the Indigenous people, through our Ancestral Authorities, gathered in a permanent Assembly, together with organizations of Indigenous peoples, civil society, peasants, women, trade unions, students, working-class neighborhoods, settlement dwellers, united market workers, youth, urban organizations, academics and citizens who accompany us. We have met, we have dialogued, and [...]
United as Organized Civil Society 1- We, the Mam people, upon finding out about the crimes committed by the Guatemalan government, have organized as civil society to defend and rescue an endangered Democracy, the reason for which national strikes are being carried out. The government and its pact of [...]
Photo courtesy of Needham Guatemala Partnership Clark Taylor (and his late wife Kay) were champions and stalwarts of the Needham Sponsoring Community (which they founded). Clark's volunteer field work with anthropologist Beatriz Manz in the 1970s and 80s contributed to her books Refugees of a Hidden War: [...]
The crisis in Guatemala is not an isolated moment, it is a structural crisis It has been 17 days of the people of Guatemala expressing their rejection of public officials’ actions of corruption, impunity and perpetuation in power. Specifically, they have demanded the resignation of Attorney General Consuelo [...]
We want to express our rejection of Consuelo Porras' request to dismiss the Minister of the Interior. Her persistence is of note to us, given the fact that the current situation in the country is a consequence of the Attorney General's stubbornness in not resigning, which confirms her coupist [...]