Unofficial translation by the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). You can find the original statement in Spanish further below.

BEFORE THE

LOCAL, DEPARTAMENTAL,

NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL

COMMUNITES:

LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE OF OUR PEOPLE IN DEFENSE OF THEIR TERRITORY!

THE MAYA MAM SAQTX’OTX’ COUNCIL AND THE PEOPLE’S ASSEMBLY OF HUEHUETENANGO IN DEFENSE OF TERRITORY FOR THE FREE AND AUTONOMOUS DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLE  –ADH–

The Sacred Temple of Zaculeu Saq’ulew of Huehuetenango is in danger of being privatized.

Only a few days ago, we successfully obtained verified information about the situation concerning the Saq’ulew Sacred Temple (Zaculeu) of Huehetenango; the information we were provided indicates that there is a dispute between the state of Guatemala, the  Indigenous Mam people, and the actual “owners” of the land where the ancient city of Zaculeu stands. The owners’ last names are Villatoro Gómez.

This angers us as Indigenous Maya Mam people. We ask ourselves, how is it that the aforementioned land and the Sacred Temples erected in Zaculeu are in dispute? We are enormously preoccupied that as of today the government has not been able to break through the legal impasse in which the property of said archaeological site has been embroiled for many years now.

According to historical evidence, the Maya Mam kingdom was a dominion that extended over the western plateau of Guatemala, whose seat was the city of SAQ’ULEW—Zaculeu—which means “white earth.” SAQ’ULEW was a military fort that was intermittently occupied for approximately 1,200 years, from the Classical Period (300-600 A.D.) until the Spanish conquest. Zaculeu was not only a political center for the Mam kingdom but also a ceremonial one, where their main structures can be found: pyramids, palaces, plazas, and a ball court.

According to the Guatemalan Constitution, archaeological monuments and relics are property of the state, regardless of who the owner of the land is. As a key archaeological site of Mayan culture, the structures on Zaculeu are under the protection of the state, and their oversight is controlled by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

Convention 169, article 14 says: Governments should grant Indigenous peoples property and ownership rights over lands that they have traditionally occupied. It also establishes that: If there is an archaeological site inside of the lands that the Indigenous peoples have traditionally occupied, their property and ownership rights over this territory should be respected, and any decision about the site requires the consultation and participation of the Indigenous peoples.

Given this historical and legal evidence, we affirm that it is undeniable that the land of the archaeological site Saq’ulew, which was declared a historic monument in 1931 by the Guatemalan government, belongs to Maya Mam people that continue to inhabit the region—independently of whether there exist or do not exist people who are now claiming the property as theirs.

Facing this worrying situation, here the Maya Mam people who continue to live in the lands or territories of Huehuetenango, proclaim emphatically and categorically:

1) That the Ministry of Culture and Sports rigorously assumes responsibility and recognizes the national urgency of the solution to the legal problem concerning the lands in question, utilizing all of the mechanisms that the state has at its disposal, like expropriation.

2) That the state keeps in mind the rights of Indigenous peoples, according to Convention 169: Any measure that directly affects Indigenous peoples, including the management of sites within their territories, requires free, prior, and informed consultation.

3) That the state, from now going forward, includes the Maya Mam people in the administrative process: Convention 169 stipulates that the Indigenous peoples participate in the use, management, and conservation of the resources within their territories.

4) The Maya Mam people call upon the international community to take action on this issue, so they can help us activate all of the necessary legal and diplomatic mechanisms to avoid yet another forced displacement of the Maya Mam people.

5) Likewise, we are conscious of the fact that it is not only the Maya Mam people who have the right to enjoy the benefits of the Zaculeu Sacred Temple. We ask other Maya people in the department of Huehuetenango, and other departments of our country, to join the fight to defend the Sacred Temple SAQ’ULEW Zaculeu. Without dismissing the other people from different countries who have come to visit and enjoy the Zaculeu Temple.

To facilitate communication through email:

asambleadh@gmail.com

We are all Saq’ulew.

THE MAYA MAM SAQTX’OTX COUNCIL AND THE ASSEMBLY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE PEOPLE OF HUEHUETENANGO IN DEFENSE OF TERRITORY AND THE AUTONOMOUS AND FREE DETERMINATION OF THE PEOPLE –ADH–

Issued in HUEHUETENANGO, territory of K’aib’il B’alam, October 12 2026.

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