Graphic by CEJIL, Center for Justice and International Law. As NISGUA we thank CEJIL for their leadership in creating this letter.
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have decided to cancel all in-person tour stops for our spring 2020 tour. We are sad to make this announcement and we are incredibly grateful for all those in New Mexico, Arizona, and Los Angeles who have been organizing and planning events [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
In September, NISGUA had the honor of hosting a delegation to Guatemala for representative leaders of the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN). The delegation featured talks with women land defenders, cultural exchanges, and a community visit to the Chixoy River watershed. There is also so much that cannot be captured [...]
UPDATE: 10/22/19 As the state of siege continues, impacts are felt in communities where no state of siege has been requested, as in the case of the municipality of Ixcán, Quiché: A military incursion in Santa María Tzejá and local military intervention intp internal community conflicts in Pueblo Nuevo [...]
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 [...]
On September 4, 2019, Guatemalan president Jimmy Morales declared a state of siege in 22 municipalities and 5 departments of Guatemala. The decree came after an event in Semuy II, El Estor, Izabal, in which three Guatemalan soldiers were killed and multiple community members were injured and criminalized. There [...]
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; [...]
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 [...]
Accompanier Olivia Pandolfi (they/she or elle/ella) writes about climate change and indigenous resistance in Quiché, Guatemala. In the text you'll read about extractivism, linguistics, and a multiple-hour Google Earth tour of Guatemala's river systems. ————— As the nine of us sit, crowded into the small meeting room on stools and [...]
A sign reads, "The interference by the United States buries the people's peace." THEY DO NOT CONSULT US, THEY DO NOT LISTEN TO US, WE RESIST TO SURVIVE… On this day, August 9, 2019, we, the Indigenous people of Zaculeu, convene ourselves to strongly condemn the events [...]
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!
July 23, 2019 Escalation of tension, threats and defamation against the peaceful resistance to mining in Mataquescuintla, Guatemala On July 5th, in the evening, members of the Peaceful Resistance of Mataquescuintla were at one of the two encampments set up on either side of the Escobal mine, owned by [...]
Former NISGUA accompanier Olivia Pandolfi (they/them or she/her) created this zine about militarization and resistance as a Friends and Family Letter to their community. To read the zine as a PDF, click here. To download the zine, cut it up, and fold it into your own mini [...]
Rubén Herrera, General Coordinator of the ADH, present the Petition of Zacaleu to representatives of the Governor of Huehuetenango on July 11, 2019. On July 11, 2019, communities of Huehuetenango marched against the presence of the U.S. military in their territories. Not one Indigenous community was [...]
The following public statement by the Assembly of Peoples of Huehuetenango (ADH) rejects the militarization by the United States in their territories. To read more about the resistance against militarization, click here. To take action in solidarity with the people of Huehuetenango and all the border departments of Guatemala, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
In the past several weeks, communities and organizations in Huehuetenango have noted an increase in U.S. and Guatemalan military presence in their territories. This unexplained and unapproved military presence has caused great consternation in a region that was a target of the military’s “scorched earth” policies during the internal [...]
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... [...]
An image made by the Xinka Parliament reads: "In our Xinka territory, water, our cosmovision, and spirituality are worth more than gold and silver." On Wednesday, May 8th, hundreds of members of the Peaceful Resistance of Santa Rosa, Jalapa, and Jutiapa gathered at the resistance encampment [...]
(Vancouver/Victoria/Ottawa/Tatamagouche/Washington, D.C.) Ahead of Pan American Silver’s annual shareholder meeting in Vancouver today, the Xinka Indigenous Parliament released a statement calling on the company to stop attempts to engage with communities outside of the court-ordered consultation process over the Escobal silver project. They insist that the company’s community relations [...]
Current NISGUA accompanier Olivia Pandolfi (they/them or she/her) created this zine about community consultations as a Friends and Family Letter to their community. To read the zine as a PDF, click here. To download the zine, cut it up, and fold it into your own mini [...]
This March, NISGUA partnered with New Mexico State University to host a week-long exchange between Indigenous undergraduate students and Maya Q'eqchi', Mam, Q'anjob'al, and K'iche' environmental defenders. Ten NMSU students visited with NISGUA partners in the Chixoy and Copón Rivers watershed to learn about their grassroots organizing model that [...]
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
This March 23-30, NISGUA is partnering with New Mexico State University to host a week-long exchange between Indigenous undergraduate students and Mayan environmental defenders. Ten NMSU students will visit with NISGUA partners in the Chixoy and Copón Rivers watershed to learn about their grassroots organizing model that builds community-level [...]
Community members in Ixquisis gather. Photo credit: Nomada On March 4, 2019, the Ancestral Plurinational Government of the Akateo, Chuj, Popti, and Q'anjob'al Original Nations released a statement expressing their outrage regarding a recent violent incident. The violence was committed against Plurinational Government delegate, Julio Gómez, [...]
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 [...]
News recap: NISGUA is hiring!; Civil society reacts as political crisis escalates to a technical coup; Stand with Indigenous and campesino communities' right to self-determination; Pan American buys Tahoe Resources, inheriting Escobal Mine's legacy of human rights abuses; Court delays justice, but Maya Achí sexual violence survivors continue in struggle; Become an international accompanier [...]
NISGUA joins 10 international organizations who stand in solidarity with the communities of the Peaceful Resistance “La Puya” impacted by the international arbitration claim filed against the state of Guatemala by US mining company, Kappes, Cassiday & Associates. Community members from San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc [...]
News recap: Organizations demand justice in wake of assassinations and ongoing violence in Ixquisis, TAKE ACTION to stand with communities working to protect community consultations, NISGUA Speaking Tour shares lessons from successful organizing in Chixoy-Copón Rivers Watershed, KCA sues Guatemalan State in international court, survivors of sexual violence in Military Zone [...]
For a downloadable version of this media advisory, click here. For nearly a year and a half, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales has repeatedly defied the rule of law by attacking the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). On January 7, Morales announced that his administration would [...]