Guatemalan presidential elections Sunday: Social movements confront militarism & neoliberalism
Solidarity Update: July 2019
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!
Escalation of tension, threats and defamation in Mataquescuintla, Guatemala
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 [...]
Escalada de tensiones, amenazas y difamación en Mataquescuintla
23 de julio 2019 Escalada de tensiones, amenazas y difamación en contra de la resistencia pacífica a la minería en Mataquescuintla, Guatemala La noche de viernes 5 de julio, integrantes de la Resistencia Pacífica de Mataquescuintla estaban de turno en uno de los dos plantones pacíficos en los dos [...]
Tahoe Licenses Suspended for Lack of Consultation with Indigenous Communities, While Company Denies Indigenous Presence and Opposition
July 7, 2017 (Oakland/Reno/Ottawa/Tatamagouche/Toronto) On Wednesday July 5, the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice announced that it was temporarily suspending two of Tahoe Resources’ mining licenses until a suit against the Ministry of Energy and Mines is resolved for discrimination and lack of prior consultation with Indigenous Xinka communities [...]
Statement from the peaceful resistance to Tahoe’s Escobal mine, currently blocking mine-related traffic in Casillas
For more than five years, communities surrounding Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala have opposed the project operating in their territories. Through 18 community and municipal referenda, multiple legal actions, and different sits-ins, encampments, and protests, impacted communities continue to show that Tahoe Resources has no social license for its project. [...]
Communities maintain peaceful demonstration in protest of negative impacts of Tahoe Resources’ mine in Guatemala
Featured photo credit: Jorge Tobías Pineda Herrera Since June 7, 2017, communities surrounding Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine in southeastern Guatemala have maintained a 24-hour peaceful protest of mine-related traffic. They are denouncing the constant tremors they believe are the result of mining activities, the constant heavy truck traffic, and the [...]
More than 2900 concerned individuals from 59 countries ask Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office to investigate murder of environmental defender
Press release May 17, 2017 (Guatemala/Oakland, CA/Tatamagouche, NS) -- On Wednesday, a letter was delivered to the Public Prosecutor’s office in Guatemala on behalf of more than 2,900 people requesting an immediate and thorough investigation into the murder of 16-year-old Topacio Reynoso Pacheco and the attacks against her father, Alex [...]
Solidarity Update: December 2016
Photo: CPR Urbana News recap: Lucas García to be tried for the disappearance of Marco Antonio Molina Theissen; Staff member from the environmental justice law firm CALAS is murdered; The municipality of Mataquescuintla re-affirms 2012 referendum results that voted ‘NO’ to mining; “Guatemalan women healing towards justice” tour build U.S.-Guatemala connections in [...]
Mataquescuintla reaffirms its commitment to uphold the results of the 2012 consultation that rejected mining
Four years ago, residents of the southeastern Guatemalan municipality of Mataquescuintla held a municipal referendum in which 98.42% of participants voted against the presence of resource extraction projects in their territories. This past Friday, the municipality re-affirmed its commitment to uphold that decision and continue to stand up against [...]
US Securities and Exchange Commission asked to investigate mining company’s failure to disclose secret lawsuits
News Release August 11, 2016 (GUATEMALA CITY/OAKLAND/TORONTO) - The US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is being asked to investigate a Canadian mining company with offices in Reno, Nevada and operations in Guatemala. The Justice and Corporate Accountability Project (JCAP), based in Canada, will submit a thirty-five-page report on [...]
Se pide a la Comisión de Bolsa y Valores de Estados Unidos que se investigue la no revelación de juicios secretos de una compañía minera canadiense
COMUNICADO DE PRENSA Se pide a la Comisión de Bolsa y Valores de Estados Unidos que se investigue la no revelación de juicios secretos de una compañía minera canadiense 11 de agosto de 2016 (GUATEMALA/OAKLAND/TORONTO) – La Comisión de Bolsa y Valores de Estados Unidos (SEC) recibirá una petición [...]
Shooting attack in Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, against opponents of Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine
Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) – Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) – MiningWatch Canada – Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) – Projet Accompagnement Québec Guatemala (PAQG) (Guatemala/Ottawa/Washington/Tatamagouche) Fifty-five international organizations are calling for an investigation into the second armed attack in as many years [...]
Take Action: Anti-mining activist shot for the second time
On Saturday, October 17, armed assailants shot at six people in Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, Guatemala, where communities have organized in peaceful resistance to Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine project. Among those injured was Alex Reynoso, an environmental defender and member of the Mataquescuintla mining resistance movement in southeastern Guatemala. Alex remains [...]
Crumbling political support for Tahoe Resources in Guatemala
Article written in collaboration with MiningWatch Canada and the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network. If the militarized security strategy that Tahoe Resources has used to put its Escobal silver mine into operation isn’t enough to raise questions about the ethics of the company’s operations in Guatemala, the recent resignation of Guatemalan President [...]
“We are a peaceful people” – Mataquescuintla celebrates 2nd anniversary of municipal referendum against mining
"Second Anniversary, Municipal Consultation as requested by Residents." Photo: CPR Urbana “Authorities will come and go, but it’s the responsibility of the people to uphold this decision,” says Moisés Divas to a large crowd gathered in the central park in the municipality of Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, located less than six [...]
A glimpse into the future? Community maps show Tahoe’s potential to expand
Haga clic aquí para leer en españo. The maps below were created as part of a collective, community-based process to build awareness around the existence of mining exploration and exploitation licenses in the department of Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa. The initiative was led by local Guatemalan communities and [...]
Comunidades de Santa Rosa y Jalapa lanzan campaña contra la expansión de Tahoe Resources
--> Comunicado de Prensa: Comunidades Organizadas en Defensa del Territorio y la Naturaleza de Santa Rosa y Jalapa Valla anti-minera ubicada en Mataquescuintla, Jalapa. Photo NISGUA Desde el año 2012 a la fecha, en nuestros municipios se han realizado Consultas Municipales a Solicitud de Vecinos, en las cuales más [...]
Sixteen-year old girl murdered in continued violence associated with Tahoe Resources’ mine, Canada Pension Plan urged to divest
(Ottawa/Toronto) A sixteen year old Guatemalan girl, Topacio Reynoso, was murdered on April 13, 2014 near her home town of Mataquescuintla, Guatemala where she was head of a youth movement against mining. Her father, a leader in organizing a municipal vote on the mine, was shot in the same [...]
Organizaciones internacionales exigen justicia ante ataque armado en contra de líderes comunitarios opuestos a la mina Escobal de Tahoe Resources
Merilyn Topacio Reynoso Pacheco, 1997 -2014 (Foto: Danilo Zuleta) Han pasado dos semanas desde el ataque mortal contra Alex y Topacio Reynoso, lideres comunitarios de Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, quienes estuvieron oponiéndose activamente a la mina El Escobal de Tahoe Resources en el sureste de Guatemala. Murió Topacio, quien tenía solo [...]
Criminalization and Violence Erupt in the Shadow of the Escobal Mine
In recent weeks the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores has seen growing conflict around the installation of the Escobal silver mine, owned by the Canadian corporation Tahoe Resources. Local community organizers and allies from the Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS) denounced in August a wave [...]