Para leer en Español Read this statement that our comrades from the Departmental Assembly of the Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) wrote "in the face of the serious crisis generated by the measures taken by the Guatemalan government in relation to containing the COVID-19 pandemic." [...]
[English below] LAS VIDAS NEGRAS IMPORTAN. Desde NISGUA nos solidarizamos con todas las luchas en defensa de la vida, la dignidad y la seguridad de las personas negras por todo el mundo. Como una organización estadounidense, honramos a las tácticas diversas que líderes/as negras e indígenas utilizan para exigir [...]
Lawyers of the victims and survivors of the CREOMPAZ case at the hearing on May 18. Photo credit: Dr. Ramón Cadena May 2020 Solidarity Update We are in regular contact with our partners in Guatemala, where people are struggling to follow social-distancing measures and [...]
[Español abajo] NISGUA denounces the attack on social activist Tania Palencia We are deeply concerned about the attack at the home of social activist Tania Palencia on May 22 . Tania is a human rights defender and has made fundamental contributions to Guatemalan social movements, and is also an [...]
A page from the Military Diary. Photo credit: Centro de Medios Independientes. The Military Diary is a 54-page document that lists the names of 183 people who were captured and forcibly disappeared between 1983 and 1985, during the term of dictator Oscar Humberto Mejía Victores. In [...]
On May 11, the military José Antonio Vásquez García and César Augusto Cabrera Mejía, accused in the CREOMPAZ case, asked Judge Claudette Dominguez to obtain conditional freedom in the context of the COVID-19 emergency. The plaintiffs in the CREOMPAZ case published a first statement explaining why this petition should [...]
[Español abajo] On February 25th, NISGUA accompanied survivor organizations as they gathered to remember what they survived and those they lost on the National Day of Dignification for Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict. We gathered this footage as a tribute to the wisdom and lessons that [...]
We share with you this statement from the Association of Family Members of the Detained and Disappeared of Guatemala (FAMDEGUA), in commemoration of the Los Josefinos massacre, which occurred on April 29 and 30 in 1982. On those days, a military unit from the Guatemalan army burnt houses and [...]
Picture of Esteban Celada during a hearing on the Creompaz case. Photo credit: Verdad y Justicia April 2020 Solidarity Update As we all face the multidimensional implications of the current pandemic, we want to share with you the analyses of our Guatemalan partners. Read [...]
As several grave war crimes cases have been temporarily suspended, the lawyer of five senior military officials convicted in the Molina Theissen case (including Benedicto Lucas García and Manuel Callejas y Callejas) made another attempt to release convicted war criminals, this time using the pandemic as an excuse. Survivors [...]
NISGUA joins CALDH in denouncing the break-in of the home of Esteban Celada. Esteban is a well known Guatemalan lawyer who currently represents the girls massacred in a state-run youth shelter "Hogar Virgen de Asunción" in 2017. To date, there have been 39 attacks on Esteban, who also worked [...]
In the midst of an unprecedent health, economic and social crisis caused by COVID19, the Guatemalan government is betting on closing SEPAZ, one of the few institutions that ensures the monitoring and compliance with the Peace Agreements. In this critical context, we stand in solidarity with the victims of [...]
The setting sun shines through bougainvillea flowers in central Guatemala. Dear friend, I write to you today from my kitchen table, thankful for the pink-blossomed trees outside and the available resources for digital communications. On behalf of all of us at NISGUA, I want to offer [...]
On February 14, Guatemalan Congress approved law Decree 4-2020, formerly known as Bill 5257, or the NGO Law. Guatemalan social movements have pointed out that this initiative is antidemocratic, regressive, limits political rights, and threatens people who work in the defense of life. We are extremely worried about the impacts this [...]
Graphic by CEJIL, Center for Justice and International Law. As NISGUA we thank CEJIL for their leadership in creating this letter.
Welcome to this second Friends and Family letter, I hope you are staying warm and cozy this winter days! I wish you a festive, joyous and reflective time. Below you’ll read about my reflections as well as my wishes for the next decade: for political prisoners to be freed, [...]
Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict at their Press Conference. Photo Credit: Impunity Watch Statement on International Human Rights Day The Victims and Survivors of the Internal Armed Conflict, convened in National Assembly, declare before national and international public opinion that: 1. We publicly condemn the [...]
On December 5, 36 Achi women survivors of sexual violence presented a formal complaint of racism and discrimination against judge Claudette Domínguez. Previously in June, Judge Claudette Domínguez dismissed charges against three of the six ex-Civil Defense Patrollers (ex-PAC) accused of crimes against humanity and sexual violence in this [...]
On October 17, Judge Claudette Domínguez, known for her right-wing ties and regressive decisions, was removed from the Maya Ixil genocide case against Luis Enríquez Mendoza García, who was chief of military operations under Ríos Montt Government. The plaintiffs of the case successfully proved that Judge Dominguez has a [...]
On October 2, the First High Risk Appellate Court announced their decision to maintain Judge Claudette Domínguez in the CREOMPAZ case, despite the plaintiffs' lawyers' arguments that Judge Domínguez may have direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the case. Domínguez’ sister is an active-duty military physician and [...]
News recap: Hear the voices of our Guatemalan partners who speak out against the current state of siege, take action to support Xinca land defenders, and read updates on the Maya Achí sexual violence case. Don't miss out on our monthly donor drive that we're launching today! Become a [...]
News recap: After presidential elections we amplify our partners' analyses as to what they expect from the new government; we also share voices of people in resistance to U.S. Intervention along the Guatemalan border; an update on a significant case against Tahoe Resources, now owned by Pan American Silver; [...]
News Recap: Huehuetenango communities march against militarization, Escalation of tension, threats and defamation against the peaceful resistance to mining in Mataquescuintla, NISGUA Oakland takes action for immigrant justice on Amazon Prime Day, Thank you Becky, David, and Martha; welcome Claire, Meredith, Rafael, and Sarasuadi!
News recap: Xinka Parliament, Lawyer Quelvin Jiménez, and Peaceful Resistance Under Threat; In Blow to Justice, Judge Frees 6 Men Accused of Sexual Violence against Maya Achi Woman; 2019 Accompanier Cohort Participates in NISGUA's Organizer Training in Berkeley; Fugitive Ex-Chief of Operations Under Ríos Montt Captured on Genocide and [...]
As Guatemala held its general elections on June 16, the justice system made an important arrest. They captured retired general Luis Enrique Mendoza in Baja Verapaz, as he went to cast his ballot. Mendoza had been on the run for nearly eight years. Mendoza served as Chief of Operations [...]
Presidential and Congressional elections will be held in Guatemala this Sunday, June 16. Find out more about the elections, Thelma Cabrera's historic candidacy, and potential effects on organizing and movements in Guatemala. Correction: We mistakenly stated that second round presidential elections would be held in September. If the presidential [...]
Maya Achi Survivor Paulina Ixpata Alvarado and Maya Achi lawyer Gloria Pérez speak about their experiences working for justice. On two warm afternoons in Rabinal, Paulina Ixpata Alvarado and Gloria Pérez joined NISGUA, Breaking the Silence Maritimes Network, and a host of callers from the U.S. [...]
Our April Solidarity Update features a news recap: NISGUA and BTS Jointly Organize Webinars about Maya Achí Women’s Fight for Justice Report-back on 2019 Delegation: NISGUA and NMSU Organize Environmental Indigenous Leadership Exchange Accompanier Olivia Pandolfi Creates Zine about Community Consultations in Guatemala and more... [...]
Maya Achi women demanding justice for sexual violence enter the court for a trial date in the case's intermediate phase. Photo credit: ACOGUATE Current accompanier, Tal Netter-Sweet, shares their experience of accompanying Maya Achí women who survived sexual violence committed by civil defense patrols, operating [...]
News recap: Survivors Achieve Tentative Victory against Proposed Amnesty Law; ACODET Leaders, Indigenous Authorities Hold Press Conference in Defense of Community Consultations; NISGUA and New Mexico State University Organize Indigenous Environmental Leadership Delegation to Guatemala
Current NISGUA accompanier Meredith Wilkinson shares the journey that brought her to accompaniment and the lessons she'll take away. She invites others to join NISGUA's cross-border work for justice through the Guatemala Accompaniment Program. If you're interested in being a part of our 2019 Accompanier Cohort, we call on [...]
News recap: Join NISGUA- as staff or as an accompanier!; Survivors Respond as Guatemalan Congress Threatens Amnesty; Sign On in Solidarity with Cross-Border Indigenous Organizing for Self-Determination; Plurinational Government, Omaha Nation Hold Summit in Q’anjob’al territory, Huehuetenango; International Mayan League Holds Vigil Demanding Justice for Youth Killed by U.S. Immigration System; International Organizations [...]
In 1999, the UN-sponsored Commission for Historical Clarification presented its report, Guatemala: Memory of Silence, which documented the crimes the Guatemalan state had committed against its own people during the Internal Armed Conflict. Each year, communities around Guatemala remember what they survived and those they lost on the National [...]