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 [...]
Provincial legislature of Chubut, Argentina votes to allow open-pit mining after two-decades of broad community opposition On December 15, the Chubut provincial legislature, in a surprise session and ignoring citizen demands, voted to allow open-pit mining to take place in the Patagonian region of Argentina. Pushed through amidst concerns [...]
Para leer en Español PRESS RELEASE Dated July 15, two thousand twenty-one, the co-owner families of the farm named “El SALITRE”, which is located in the Aldea los Planes, in the municipality of San Rafael las Flores, Santa Rosa, present three administrative options against the license to operate the [...]
LEER ESTA PAGINA EN ESPANOL VISIT RESIST ESCOBAL'S WEBSITE January 21, 2021 TO: María Consuelo Porras, Attorney General, Office of the Public Prosecutor, Guatemala Augusto Jordán Rodas Hernández, Ombudsman, Office of the Human Rights Ombudsman, Guatemala Sean McAleer, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Guatemala, [...]
Thank you to Earthworks for the translation.
Representatives of the Xinka Parliament speak with the press following their press conference on December 18. PRESS RELEASE THE MINISTRIES OF ENERGY AND MINES AND OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES HAVE FAILED TO EXECUTE THE CONSULTATION OF THE XINKA PEOPLE REGARDING THE ESCOBAL MINE It has [...]
A banner reads: "Xinkas: never conquered, eternally respected." Summary of Recommendations from Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudsman (PDH) on the Court-Ordered Consultation over the Escobal mine A report on the status of the Constitutional Court-ordered consultation with the Xinka people over the future of the Escobal silver [...]
The march begins to form outside of the Supreme Court of Justice. A sign reminds of the negative impact that the mine has on the local watershed. One year after the historic Constitutional Court (CC) decision that suspended the [...]
Press Release September 4, 2018 Earthworks * MiningWatch Canada * Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala * Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala * Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network Late Monday night, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court ruled that [US-Canadian owned] Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine will remain suspended while the Ministry [...]
Today, the Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa & Jutiapa and the Xinca People's Parliament sent a letter to US and Canadian mining company, Tahoe Resources, and their Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, expressing firm opposition to their Escobal silver mine and reiterating their demand for the permanent closure [...]
On July 12, 2018, Guatemalan activist Ángel Estuardo Quevedo, a member of the Peaceful Resistance in Casillas which demands the permanent closure of the Escobal silver mine, was murdered while traveling in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Lima. The murder of Quevedo is the latest in a wave [...]
On Thursday, July 12, 2018, Guatemalan activist Ángel Estuardo Quevedo, a member of the Peaceful Resistance in Casillas which demands the permanent closure of the Escobal silver mine, was murdered while traveling in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Lima. NISGUA joins the Xinka People's Parliament in condemning his [...]
Yesterday, 54 organizations from Guatemala, Latin America, United States, Canada and Europe delivered a letter to the U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, Luis Arreaga. The organizations expressed their concern regarding the U.S. government's intervention in the case against Tahoe Resources' Escobal silver mine, a project associated with numerous and well-documented [...]
Thousands gather in front of the Constitutional Court in Guatemala City, demanding the closure of Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine and the respect for the self-determination of the Xinca People. On Monday April 9, thousands took to the streets in Guatemala City as part of the "March for [...]
Community members demand justice for the murder of 16-year old environmental activist, Topacio Reynoso, outside of the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor's Office in 2014 On March 26, Guatemalan and international human rights organizations called on the Guatemalan state to restore the life-saving security measures for the Reynoso Pacheco [...]
Members of the Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa, and Jutiapa at a press conference in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court on February 21, 2018. The following article was co-written by MiningWatch Canada, Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA), and Earthworks. It has [...]
The following information was published by the Xinca Parliament regarding the misreporting by local news sources, which are alleging the "detention" of two Tahoe Resources/Minera San Rafael executives in a community in Santa Rosa. The original publication can be found in its entirety at the bottom of the page. [...]
This week, NISGUA received a delegation from the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) in our Guatemala City office. NISGUA relies on a strong network of individuals and organizations, like CRLN, fighting in the global struggle for social justice and respect for the earth. We work in [...]
Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa member from Santa Rosa de Lima speaks to the press during a conference held at their second permanent resistance camp in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court on November 29. Community members from Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa have been [...]
NISGUA partnered with Jalapa-based youth organization, Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID), for a 16-day U.S. speaking tour, “Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life.” Together we helped raise awareness about the community and youth forces that have organized in resistance to Tahoe Resources' Escobal silver mine in southeastern [...]
In August, Nevada Senator Dean Heller wrote to the U.S. State Department to lobby for Tahoe Resources, a Canadian company headquartered in Reno. At the time, Tahoe’s operating license for its flagship Escobal mine in Guatemala had been suspended by Guatemala’s highest court over failure to consult with the Xinca [...]
Members of the Peaceful Resistance Camp in Casillas have created a second camp in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court. They arrived one week ago and will remain until court justices make a decision on the permanent closure of Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine. The Peaceful [...]
[En español aquí] A week ahead of the launch of our 2017 speaking tour, “Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life,” NISGUA sat down with the invited organization to learn more about the young activists who form part of the environmental justice organization, JODVID – Youth Organized Youth in [...]
Thousands gather outside Guatemalan Supreme Court on August 28, 2017. Photo credit: Jose Pablo Chumil The following article was co-written by MiningWatch Canada and Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) with support from former NISGUA staff, Ellen Moore. Tahoe Resources is lobbying U.S. and [...]
In the early morning of July 21, the Guatemalan National Civil Police (PNC) carried out a second violent attack on the peaceful encampment in Casillas, where community members have expressed their resolute opposition to the presence of Tahoe Resources’ Escobal silver mine. Since June 7, community members from six municipalities [...]
The following article was co-written by MiningWatch Canada and the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). Following the suspension of two of Tahoe Resources’ mine licenses in Guatemala on July 5, Tahoe Resources’ suppliers, workers and the Guatemalan Industrial Association have engaged in a smear campaign [...]
July 7, 2017 (Oakland/Reno/Ottawa/Tatamagouche/Toronto) On Wednesday July 5, the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice announced that it was temporarily suspending two of Tahoe Resources’ mining licenses until a suit against the Ministry of Energy and Mines is resolved for discrimination and lack of prior consultation with Indigenous Xinka communities [...]
On Thursday, June 22, riot police used tear gas to disperse communities protesting the negative impacts of Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine. For three weeks, representatives from six municipalities neighboring the mine have maintained a peaceful encampment along the highway in the town of Casillas, 15 kilometers from the entrance to [...]
Since June 7, communities have maintained a 24-hour encampment along the highway in the municipality of Casillas, 15 kilometers from the Escobal mine of U.S.-Canadian company Tahoe Resources. Blocking only mine-related traffic, they are denouncing the negative impacts they experience on a daily basis since Tahoe Resources came to the [...]
For more than five years, communities surrounding Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala have opposed the project operating in their territories. Through 18 community and municipal referenda, multiple legal actions, and different sits-ins, encampments, and protests, impacted communities continue to show that Tahoe Resources has no social license for its project. [...]
Featured photo credit: Jorge Tobías Pineda Herrera Since June 7, 2017, communities surrounding Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala have maintained a 24-hour peaceful protest of mine-related traffic. They are denouncing the constant tremors they believe are the result of mining activities, the constant heavy truck traffic, and the [...]
June 12, 2017 (Ottawa/Oakland/Tatamagouche/Toronto/Washington D.C.) An investor alert released today warns that historic developments in the lawsuit against Tahoe Resources in Canada is just one indicator of serious risks surrounding its Escobal silver mine in Guatemala. On Thursday, June 8th, the Supreme Court of Canada denied Tahoe Resources leave to [...]
Featured photo credit: CALAS With files from the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network. On June 1, Guatemala trial Judge Verónica Ruíz convicted six members of the National Civil Police for breach of duty. All six officers were responsible for the custody of Alberto Rotondo Dall’orso, former head of security for [...]
Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP) – Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) – Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) – MiningWatch Canada – Diocesan Committee in Defense of Nature (CODIDENA) (Guatemala City/Oakland/Toronto/Ottawa/Tatamagouche) – While a civil lawsuit moves forward in British Columbia courts against Tahoe Resources [...]
This fall, we’re excited to welcome Alex Escobar Prado as the featured speaker for this year's tour, "Guatemalan Youth in Defense of Land and Life!" Alex is an activist, educator, and a member of the Guatemalan environmental justice organization Youth Organized in Defense of Life (JODVID). Born out of the [...]
Over the last several decades, transnational resource extraction companies have flocked to Central America. Licenses to construct hydroelectric dams, exploit minerals, or build the necessary infrastructure to make these types of projects possible are being granted by national governments in the region at an alarming rate. With little transparency, [...]
Press release May 17, 2017 (Guatemala/Oakland, CA/Tatamagouche, NS) -- On Wednesday, a letter was delivered to the Public Prosecutor’s office in Guatemala on behalf of more than 2,900 people requesting an immediate and thorough investigation into the murder of 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso Pacheco and the attacks against her father, Alex [...]
On January 24, residents from the municipalities of Casillas and San Rafael las Flores filled the courtroom to hear arguments in a civil suit against the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) that seeks the cancellation of a mining concession in their communities. Casillas resident Bernabé Rivas appealed to [...]
January 27, 2017 (Guatemala/ Montreal/Ottawa/Reno/Tatamagouche/Toronto/Washington, DC) Canadian and US civil society organizations wholeheartedly welcome a British Columbia Court of Appeals’ decision that Vancouver is the preferred forum for a civil suit to be heard against Tahoe Resources concerning violence against peaceful opposition to its silver mine in Guatemala. Announced [...]
Four years ago, residents of the southeastern Guatemalan municipality of Mataquescuintla held a municipal referendum in which 98.42% of participants voted against the presence of resource extraction projects in their territories. This past Friday, the municipality re-affirmed its commitment to uphold that decision and continue to stand up against [...]