Julio Gómez Lucas speaks before a crowd of thousands of people in San Mateo Ixtatán, Huehuetenango. Photo credit: Nelton Rivera, Prensa Comunitaria Km. 169 January 28, 2020 María Consuelo Porras Attorney General of the Republic of Guatemala Édgar Godoy Samayoa Department of the Interior Nester Mauricio [...]
In the face of the ongoing threat by mega-development projects and extractive industries to indigenous and campesino peoples' natural resources, and in particular to their water sources, the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) held a day-long meeting to discuss strategies for their protection. The ADH, a [...]
Photo Credit: Francisco Simón Original article posted in Spanish on Prensa Comunitaria. Translation by NISGUA. By: Francisco Simón. January 6, 2018, San Mateo Ixtatán The communal authorities of Yulch'en Frontera paid tribute to the martyr and defender of rivers Don Sebastián Alonzo Juan, who was murdered on [...]
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, [...]
On January 17, 2017, community members from the Ixquisis region, located in northern Huehuetenango, held a demonstration against the construction of three hydroelectric projects by the company Promoción y Desarrollos Hídricos, Sociedad Anónima (PDH, SA). That afternoon, representatives of the National Civil Police, PDH S.A.'s private security, and forest rangers, all armed, [...]
On July 30, 2016, seven ancestral and community authorities from northern Huehuetenango began their journey back home after being held as political prisoners. All of the men were held for over a year – one for over three – on charges related to community protests opposing hydroelectric dams imposed [...]
The following is a statement made by the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) on the International Day of Indigenous Peoples. For the original statement by the ADH, click here. Translation by NISGUA. The Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) August 12, 2016 To mark the [...]
Today marks the opening of the trial against seven land defenders from northern Huehuetenango, all of whom have been held in pretrial detention as political prisoners for over a year. All seven are being accused of crimes that allegedly took place during community protests against the imposition of hydroelectric [...]
One year ago today, Ermitaño López – “Don Taño” – was arrested in Guatemala City’s courthouse as he was attending a pre-trial declaration hearing in support of other land defenders from Barillas. Don Taño is a teacher and community organizer from Barillas, northern Huehuetenango, where communities are facing the [...]
The following is a press release issued by the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH), together with other organizations who accompanied the "Caravan for dignity, resistance, and freedom for political prisoners from northern Huehuetenango." NISGUA joined the Caravan as international observers, documenting testimony of communities in the [...]
The following is a press release published by the Departmental Assembly of the People of Huehuetenango (ADH) in response to the events surrounding the recent Caravan for Dignity, Community Resistance and the Freedom of Political Prisoners from Huehuetenango. The Caravan was organized by an alliance of Guatemalan organizations in solidarity [...]
This article was written by Gustavo Illescas and originally posted in Spanish on CMI-Guatemala. Translation by NISGUA. Under the motto “We are all northern Huehuetenango,” the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) joined civil society organizations and community authorities on a caravan that left the municipality of Huehuetenango [...]
Original article posted in Spanish on Prensa Comunitaria with information provided from his family. Translation by NISGUA. Rigoberto Juárez is a representative of the Plurinational Government of the Q’anjob’al, Chuj, Akateka, Popti and Mestiza nations, a governing body present in 16 municipalities in Huehuetenango. He has been criminalized by the [...]
Original article written in Spanish by Nelton Rivera for Prensa Comunitaria. Read the original article here. Translation by NISGUA. By Nelton Rivera “We will continue to defend life. We will give our lives if necessary, but we won’t do it kneeling down… Where does water – life – come from? [...]
On January 22, 2016, after spending more than two years in prison, wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, land defenders Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez were finally able to return to their homes in Santa Cruz Barillas. They arrived to a warm welcome from thousands of community members [...]
We celebrate the release yesterday of Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez, two community leaders wrongly convicted of homicide in a 2014 trial plagued with irregularities. Saúl and Rogelio were sentenced to 33 years in prison, despite major holes in the prosecution's evidence linking them to the murder. After winning a [...]
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 [...]
On September 1, Barillas land defenders Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez will stand trial again for accessory to murder. Citing serious irregularities and major errors in the initial trial earlier this year that condemned both men to 33 years and 4 months in prison, a Special Appeals court ruled [...]
Original article posted on CMI-Guatemala in Spanish on August 11, 2015. Written by Alba Cecilia Mérida Translation by NISGUA On August 8, beneath the energy and protection of Kawok - symbolizing the strength of unity and wisdom - hundreds of women, men, boys, girls, youth, and the elderly gathered [...]
"This is all of our struggle. Who doesn't breathe this air? Who doesn't drink this water? Who doesn't feel the rays of the shining sun on their face? Standing up for life - this is my husband's crime. How many of our brothers and sisters have given their lives [...]
UPDATE: On May 15 a court in Huehuetenango unanimously resolved not to ratify the 33-years and 4-month sentence against Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez. The decision is the result of a special appealed filed on behalf of the community leaders from Santa Cruz Barillas. Their case will be re-tried [...]
Last month, Cecilia Mérida testified at the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. about the damage being inflicted by the Bank's financing of the Cambalam hydroelectric dam in the municipality of Barillas, Huehuetenango. She testified to the strategies of criminalization being employed by the Guatemalan government and the [...]
Since 2011, communities in northern Huehuetenango have organized more than 50 peaceful protests and dozens of community referenda in which they have actively expressed their opposition to the expansion of hydroelectric dams and other megaprojects in their territories. This demonstration of community strength and self-determination has been met with [...]
Written by Nelton Rivera Translated by NISGUA Read original piece in Spanish here. [Yesterday] Rigoberto Juárez Mateo was arbitrarily detained and became another political prisoner held by the state of Guatemala. Rigoberto Juárez is a representative of the Plurinational Government (Gobierno Plurinacional) of the Q'anjob'al, Chuj, [...]
Posted on March 2, 2015 by ACOGUATE Translation by NISGUA Detained and awaiting trial since August 27, 2013, natural resource defenders Saúl Méndez and Antonio Rogelio Velásquez of Santa Cruz Barillas were recently sentenced to 33 years and four months in prison. They were found guilty of being accomplices [...]
Today, alternative and grassroots media in Guatemala denounced attacks against Radio Snuq' Jolom Konob', a community radio station in the department of Huehuetenango that regularly transmits voices of the Q'anjob'al people living in and around the municipality of Santa Eulalia. The department of Huehuetenango, like many other areas in [...]
Those of you following NISGUA's work on defense of land and territory over the past seven years may remember the story of how Goldcorp's Marlin mine first gained access to indigenous lands in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, San Marcos. Company representatives told residents that they were interested in starting an [...]
An excerpt from a press release issued by the Guatemalan Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (UDEFEGUA): "On Thursday, November 13, the trial court judge in Villa Nueva sent Oscar Morales, a leader in the resistance movement in San Rafael las Flores, to trial for allegedly threatening the [...]
In an historic resolution, a Guatemalan Appeals Court ruled last week that the government must take into account the right to free, prior and informed consent when granting mining licenses on the lands of indigenous communities. The ruling came in response to a legal action presented by the Sipakapense [...]
We demand liberty for our leaders; they have not committed crimes Photo: ADH Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango Communiqué in Solidarity with the Civil Society Movement of Santa Cruz Barillas Today, March 4, 2014, we attended two hearings in which the cases would be presented of six leaders from Santa [...]
Neither are San Rafael Las Flores, Nueva Santa Rosa, Mataquescuintla, Jalapa nor Santa Rosa de Lima. In 2005, the communities of Sipakapa carried out one of the first community consultations on mining in Guatemala, taking a stand against Canadian giant, Goldcorp Inc., and sparking a movement that has resulted [...]
The Departmental Assembly of Huehuetenango in Defense of Territory and for the Autonomy and Free Determination of the People – ADH – informs the national and international community: During 1981, 1982, 1983, the Guatemalan Army massacred the Achí communities that lived on the banks of the Chixoy River; 444 [...]
CALAS and Plurijul denounce mayor of San Miguel Ixtahuacán Photo: Breaking the Silence Press Conference Communiqué Article 4 of the political constitution of the Republic of Guatemala establishes that no person can be subjected to servitude or any other condition which undermines their dignity. On January 8, 2014, five [...]
On January 14, the people of Sipakapa joined together to take action in denouncing the granting of the Los Chocoyos mining exploration license to Goldcorp Inc. Earlier this month, the Sipakapa Maya Council, together with the Western People's Council (CPO), filed a legal complaint against the Ministry of Energy [...]
On September 28, conflict erupted again in Northern Huehuetenango in response to the imposition of Spanish-owned Cambalam hydro-electric project in Santa Cruz Barillas. Despite ongoing criminalization and repression, community members continue to demand respect for the 2007 community consultation rejecting large-scale development projects in their territory.During his September 3 [...]
"The Council of Ancestral Authorities of the 31 communities of Momostenango welcomes you to the good faith community consultation" (All Photos: NISGUA) On Sunday September 1, the municipality of Momostenango held the third community consultation in the department of Totonicapán. In all three referenda in Totonicapán, as well as [...]
Sources: Western Peoples' Council (CPO) - Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) - MiningWatch Canada – Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) (Guatemala City/Ottawa/Washington) Tuesday, Guatemala's Western Peoples' Council of Mayan organizations (CPO) filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) alleging that the [...]
The Council presents their demand on September 3, 2013. Photo: CPO THE COUNCIL OF MAYA AND XINCA PEOPLES DENOUNCES THE GUATEMALAN STATE IN THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS On February 28, 2013, the Guatemalan Constitutional Court dismissed the Council’s challenge of unconstitutionality filed against the mining law on [...]
On Tuesday, August 27, Saúl Aurelio Méndez Muñoz and Antonio Rogelio Velásquez López, community leaders opposed to the imposition of the Cambalam hydroelectric project, operated by Hidro Santa Cruz, property of Spanish company Hidralia S.A., were arrested outside of a Guatemala City courthouse. Saúl and Antonio had traveled to [...]
On August 21 – 23, leaders and representatives of twenty Maya Q'anjob'al communities in northern Huehuetenango and Chiapas, Mexico, gathered in San Juan Ixcoy, Huehuetenango to discuss the ongoing imposition of large-scale development projects on their territory and to continue generating strategies for unified resistance moving forward. The three [...]