"ALTO a la criminalización de las autoridades que defienden la Madre Tierra" translates to "Stop the criminalization of the authorities who defend Mother Earth." This message denounces the criminalization of Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous authorities and land defenders for protecting their territory, water, and community well-being against mining.

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

THE MAYA CH’ORTI INDIGENOUS COUNCIL OF OLOPA, CHIQUIMULA

COMMUNICATES

As Indigenous Authorities representing 16 Maya Ch’orti’ communities of the municipality of Olopa, Chiquimula, we continue in RESISTANCE AGAINST MINING.

In 2016, we denounced human rights violations against the Ch’orti’ people, our environment and territory, due to the installation of a mining company. The company was granted a license by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, despite anomalies and irregularities in the environmental impact study and without consulting with the communities, so we started a peaceful resistance.

In 2019 we filed an injunction against the Cantera Los Manantiales mining license using national laws. We exhausted all administrative and legal channels in Guatemala, and through formal complaints and scientific studies, we demonstrated the contamination of water and air, the harm to public health, and the disruption of community peace caused by mining.

We went to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and submitted a petition denouncing the Guatemalan State for violating our rights as Indigenous peoples. The case is currently in process.

As a consequence of our peaceful resistance, ten Maya Ch’orti Indigenous Authorities and land defenders were criminalized and have faced criminal proceedings for over four years. After being formally charged, they were sent to trial, accused of the crime of illegal detention. The criminal justice system is being used arbitrarily to intimidate and silence those of us who raise our voices against mining and defend our territory. This also disregards the right of Indigenous communities to seek their own ways of resolving conflicts that arise in their territories.

For this reason, we publicly announce the Start of the Oral Argument against ten Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Authorities, which will take place on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in the Criminal Court for Sentencing and Drug-Related Activity in Chiquimula, starting at 10:30 am.

We call on communities, organizations, and individuals who have accompanied our resistance to continue supporting this struggle against mining, which has brought nothing but destruction to our communities.

As affected Ch’orti communities, we remain firm in our struggle. We know that extractive companies bring only water contamination, deforestation, destruction of our Mother Earth, illness, social conflict, and criminalization.

YES TO LIFE, NO TO MINING

Guatemala, July 29, 2025