Guatemala News Update: March 1-25

Assassinations of Human Rights Defenders

Environmental Activist Killed
A prominent environmental activist, Walter Méndez Barrios, was shot and killed March 16th in Guatemala. He had fought against deforestation and hydroelectric projects within Central America, was part of the Petenero Front against Dams – an organization opposing hydroelectric projects in the Usumacinta River- and led the Association of Forest Communities in Petén. His association released a statement saying that Méndez had been receiving death threats for his work.

The assassination came not long after two environmental activists were killed in Honduras – including world-renowned activist Berta Cáceres – leading to increased criticism of US and Central American plans to build more hydroelectric dams without consultation and to the detriment of local communities.

Radio Station Director Killed
On March 17^th, Mario Roberto Salazar Barahona, the director of EstéreoAzúcar in the department of Jutiapa was killed. According to CERIGUA, Salazar had been inside his car after returning from meetings at another radio station when he was shot. Police believe hit men had been following him, yet the motive for the murder is still unknown. Salazar had worked in the field of journalism for over a decade. UNESCO and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have both condemned the attack. They stated, “we reaffirm the absolute need to develop a comprehensive public policy for protection of defenders of human rights, including journalists to enable them to carry out their work in an environment where their security and integrity are guaranteed.”

Transitional Justice

Guatemala News Update: Jan. 30-Feb. 5

Oscar Mejía Víctores, former head of state accused of genocide, dies under house arrest
Oscar Mejía Víctores died Monday morning at the age of 85. He was the head of State of Guatemala between 1983 and 1986, taking power through a coup d’état that ousted his predecessor Jose Efraín Ríos Montt. Under his leadership, the government forcibly disappeared over 600 people and killed thousand of indigenous. He had been under house arrest since 2011 for accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity during his tenure as the head of State.

Guatemala Supreme Court Rules Against Lifting Congressman’s Immunity
The Guatemalan Supreme Court has denied prosecutors’ request to lift the immunity of Congressman and presidential advisor Edgar Justino Ovalle, on the basis of insufficient evidence. As a public official, he has immunity from prosecution. He has been accused of human rights abuses during his tenure as a military officer during the Guatemalan internal armed conflict war.

First Week of Sepur Zarco Trial Underway
The trial against a military officer and a military commissioner began Feb. 1. The men are charged with crimes against humanity in the form of sexual violence, sexual and domestic slavery, as well as forced disappearance of indigenous villagers during Guatemala’s internal conflict. International observers have been blogging daily about the trial at the International Justice Monitor and Breaking the Silence.

Nickel company announces new mining project in Baja Verapaz
The Canadian company CVMR Corporation and Central American Nickel Inc. have announced a partnership to mine 3 million tons of mineral ore each year in Santa Anita located in Baja Verapaz which is considered to be one of the largest, untapped reserves of Nickel in existence. From Guatemala, the ore will be shipped to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to be refined. The project is not far from Rio Negro and the 33 communities displaced and massacred during the construction of the Chixoy Hydroelectric dam project. Another nickel mine operating in the neighboring department of Izabal is responsible for acts of violence, including a murder and the gang rape of 11 women by security forces.

New Law for Missing Women Passed in Guatemala
A law was passed on January 29th that establishes the ability to immediately search for missing women. At least 4,500 women have been reported missing over the last two years, and according to Congresswoman Sandra Moran, law enforcement often does not respond immediately when a woman goes missing. This law, the result of the combined efforts of many women’s rights organization, hopes to curb the incidence of kidnapping women for forced labor or prostitution.

Growing concern over treatment of Central American refugees
On Feb. 4, 34 Members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Loretta Lynch to express concern over the treatment and safety of deported Central American families in response to the recent raids.Many of these families may qualify for special accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, protections that were not taken into account during the raids. The Members of Congress call for a suspension of raids, more careful review and screening of cases, among other changes to DHS protocols.

Bill in support of Community Radio up for vote in Guatemalan Congress
The Community Media Bill 4087 aims to legalize community radio within Guatemala. Current telecommunications laws do not allow for the municipalities to create or have access to non-profit licenses for community radios. Without a public radio system, communities cannot easily distribute important news and educational programming information such as emergency disaster relief, voter registration, and public health campaigns broadcast in their native language. Originally introduced to the Congress in 2009, the bill had been stalled up to February 2 when the first reading of the bill took place. The vote on Bill 4087 could take place as soon as February 9th.

Guatemala News Update: June 16-20

Lawsuit filed against Tahoe Resources

A lawsuit is being filed against Tahoe Resources in relation to the violence that occurred during a 2013 peaceful protest at the Escobal silver mine in San Rafael Las Flores. The mine’s security guards are being accused by seven Guatemalans of attacking them and critically injuring Luis Fernando García Monroy after shooting him three times, once in the face. The lawsuit also accuses Tahoe’s Chief of Security in Guatemala, Alberto Rotondo, of various crimes, including ordering the attack on the peaceful protestors, fabricating a story that the demonstrators attacked mine employees, and arranging the tampering of evidence.

Victories for Communities Affected by the Chixoy Dam

On Wednesday, May 28, over 1,000 men and women from the communities of Rio Negro left their homes. Traveling on dirt roads, over rocky mountain passes, and up a rain-swollen river they gathered at the resettlement village of Pacux. At 2 am the following morning, they boarded dozens of buses bound for Guatemala City. Six hours later, drawing on strength born of righteous indignation, they began their protest in front of the office of President Otto Perez Molina. They vowed to sleep in the streets, if necessary, until the President heard their message.

The signs carried by protesters and the slogans they shouted made clear their single demand: full implementation of a reparations plan — promised by the Guatemalan government — for damages they suffered over 30 years earlier due to the construction of the Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam. Stand with the communities by taking action now.

Guatemala News Update: June 2-6

Chixoy reparations to be handled by Executive branch

A six hour-long meeting between communities affected by the Chixoy Dam and government officials determined that the Executive Branch will be the only entity to handle the communities’ promised reparations. This decision was a victory for community members, as earlier in the week government officials had suggested the reparations be fulfilled via the Legislative Branch. Communities viewed this as a tactic to withhold the economic portion of the reparations plan. Although a formal plan has not yet been agreed upon, communities say that they are making progress and will move forward with the negotiation process.

The World Bank decided to postpone its vote on a requested $340 million loan to Guatemala; the discussion will likely take place within the next few weeks. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission was among the 34 NGOs that wrote to the World Bank requesting the delay.

Guatemala News Update: May 26-30

New mining equipment arrives at La Puya amid calls for dialogue

After the violent removal of protesters by police last Friday, May 23, new mining equipment has been brought into the site of the El Tambor mining project. On Saturday, protesters from the peaceful resistance of La Puya regrouped near their original position and a mass was held on Sunday to pray for those injured in the eviction. Photos of the eviction and march in solidarity with the movement can be found here.

Archbishop Óscar Vian deplored the absence of real dialogue regarding
mining and energy projects and called for the government to stop approving
projects before entering into the dialogue process with communities.

GHRC Executive Director Kelsey Alford-Jones was quoted in an article about the non-violent resistance at La Puya. Government officials have equated leaders of the resistance with criminals and terrorists, which Alford-Jones points out is reestablishing the “idea of the internal enemy” that was so present during the internal armed conflict.

Pending the investigation of their cases, a judge ordered the house arrest of four community leaders from La Puya who have been active in the peaceful resistance movement against the El Tambor mining project. The four community leaders, who have been accused of illegally detaining and threatening four mining workers from El Tambor in 2012, are scheduled to stand trial August 18th. The judge dismissed the case against a fifth leader of the peaceful resistance movement, Yolanda Oquelí, on the grounds of lack of evidence.

Guatemala News Update: March 31 – April 4

Say “No!” to U.S. funds for the Guatemalan Army

Upside Down World publicized the call from us at GHRC and our partners at NISGUA for the US government to maintain restrictions on funding to the Guatemalan Army, as Guatemala has not complied with conditions laid out in the 2014 US Appropriations Law.

Click here to sign our petition!

Guatemala News Update March 8-14

Under the Volcano: Mining conflicts in Guatemala erupting in violence

Tensions continue to grow over mineral exploitation in Guatemala. One mining resistance movement, extraordinary for its dedication to non-violence and its success to date, is La Puya. The movement celebrated its second anniversary on March 3^rd. The movement has lessons to offer other movements in Guatemala, as well as environmental movements in the U.S. 

Backlash continues over hydroelectric projects in Guatemala

An estimated 20,000 people demonstrated in Guatemala City last week against a plan to expand energy projects throughout rural areas of Guatemala complaining that energy prices are too high and that hydroelectric projects would result in displacement and land seizures. Of 57 sources of conflict identified by the country’s Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, 17 are hydroelectric projects, including Chixoy and Xalalá. 

“There’s no justice for the people whose human rights were violated,” Kelsey Alford-Jones, executive director of the Guatemalan Human Rights Commission USA, said. Major hydroelectric and mining projects are notorious for “corruption and rubber stamping of environmental impact reports,” which has “led to severe lack of trust in public institutions.”

Survivors remember victims of Río Negro Massacre

Carmen Sánchez, whose son Miguel was murdered in the Río Negro Massacre at three years old on May 14, 1982, remembers her son and other victims of the massacre that was the devastating result of the installation of the Chixoy Dam. Community members, including Carmen, knew there were conflicts related to the pending dam, but never thought the soldiers would come to Río Negro. Thirty-two years later, justice has still not come. Through the Appropriations Act passed by the U.S. Congress, Carmen and other survivors are hoping that peace will come one day.

Victory in the US Congress: Reparations for the Chixoy Dam and the Military Ban

32 years ago today, 177 women and children were brutally murdered in Pokoxom during a series of state-ordered massacres which left a death toll of 444 Maya Achi people. The Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA expresses support for the survivors of the community of Rio Negro, who lived through brutal violence committed as part of the construction of the Chixoy hydroelectric dam.

On January 16th, after a protracted battle, the US Congress passed a consolidated appropriations bill for 2014. The bill includes various restrictions on funding from the US Department of State (DOS) to Guatemala’s armed forces — a clear, if partial, victory against impunity and militarization.

Reparations for the Chixoy Dam

The Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam Reservoir. Photo by James Rodríguez.

The restriction that has received the most attention in Guatemalan news relates to reparations to 33 communities impacted by the construction of the Chixoy Dam in the early 1980s. Members of these communities, including survivors of the gruesome Rio Negro massacres, have waited for over 30 years for compensation and recognition of the injustice and abuse they suffered. The legislation bars the Guatemalan army from receiving funding under the Act until DOS certifies that Guatemala is taking credible steps to implement the Reparations Plan which the Guatemalan government signed in 2010, but never implemented.

In February, the organization representing the 33 communities affected by the dam — Adivima — released a statement criticizing the lack of progress in the implementation of the Reparations Plan. Adivima reported that, in the month after the bill was passed, the communities were neither approached by the government, the World Bank or IDB, nor were they informed of any concrete steps taken by the government to address the issue.

GHRC and partners are calling on the US Government to seek input from the communities as part of the evaluation process the bill requires. The US Appropriations Law creates a historic opportunity to finally compensate the communities that lost their homes and hundreds of loved ones, but if they are locked out of the process, we risk re-victimizing the very communities the law is meant to support.

The Military Ban

The bill contains another restriction, which has been largely ignored, related to ongoing and past human rights abuses committed by the Guatemalan Army. The language accompanying the bill bars DOS from granting funds from the Foreign Military Financing Program to the army until the Secretary of State certifies that the army is meeting certain conditions. The restriction is narrow, and still allows funding under this program to the rest of Guatemala’s armed forces.

Guatemala News Update: February 24-March 2

Two years of peaceful resistance in La Puya

The community of La Puya celebrated two years of peaceful resistance yesterday against a mining project by U.S.-owned company Kappes, Cassiday and Associates that would cause severe harm to the environment and affect the health and homes of many in the areas of San José de Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc. Around 1,000 people joined a march to commemorate the anniversary and protest future mining plans. Last week, the contracting company broke their relationship with KCA and pulled the machinery out of the mine permanently. GHRC joined the protesters in solidarity and La Puya presented GHRC with a certificate of appreciation for standing by them in peaceful resistance.

Short-list of candidates for attorney general position to be presented in May; CC hears final arguments regarding the term of Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz

The nominating committee will turn in a list of six candidates for the next attorney general to President Pérez Molina on May 2. Candidates, who must prove their legal and personal accomplishments and that they do not associate with members of organized crime, may apply this Friday through March 7. Paz y Paz has not yet decided whether she will run for reelection.

The Constitutional Court heard final arguments on February 26 from Claudia Paz y Paz on why she should stay in office until December, and from Ricardo Sagastume on why her term should end in May. Supporters from both sides attended the hearing, including representatives from GHRC. Though Paz y Paz supporters had a greater presence, Sagastume said he felt “secure” that the court would rule in his favor. The Court has 15 days to deliver a decision.

Inter-American Development Bank to cooperate with Guatemalan government for Chixoy reparations

After meeting with President Pérez Molina and Minister of Finance María Castro, Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter-American Development Bank, announced that the Bank will cooperate with the Guatemalan government to compensate surviving victims of the 1980s Chixoy Dam project.

Human rights defenders cite slow advances for justice in Guatemala

In honor of the UN’s Commission for Historic Clarification’s report “Memorias del Silencio,” released 15 years ago, human rights organizations expressed that progress has been slow regarding access to justice for the victims of Guatemala’s internal armed conflict.

Central American women speak out against violence

This Guardian piece looks at the obstacles, including threats and harassment, faced by women human rights defenders in Central America, as well efforts by the Mesoamerican Human Rights Defenders’ Initiative (IM-Defensoras) to provide women with security and support. The article highlights Lolita Chavez, a GHRC partner who came to the US to speak last year, who has been targeted on multiple occasions for speaking up for indigenous rights and women’s rights.

High Risk Court declines to hear Rios Montt amnesty application

The High Risk Court declined to analyze Rios Montt’s request for amnesty. The President of the Tribunal explained that the High Risk Court already ruled on this issue in October of 2012 and could not rule on it again. This is the third court to excuse itself from the process. Rios Montt is currently under house arrest and is awaiting his trial in January of 2015, though his application for amnesty must be decided first.

Inter American Press Association asks Guatemala to investigate murder of four journalists

A delegation from the Sociedad Interamericana de Prensa (SIP) visited Guatemala last week to meet with President Pérez Molina and other officials on the status of freedom of the press in the country, as recent events have signaled an increase in violence against journalists. The SIP encouraged the administration to investigate the murder of four journalists last year. 

Later this week, the CC decided to suspend measures against José Rubén Zamora, the president of “El Periódico,” who Vice President Roxana Baldetti accused of falsifying information about corruption in the administration. As a result, Guatemala will establish the “Sistema de Protección a Periodistas” (Journalists’ Protection System) to ensure freedom of the press and safety for journalists. The U.S. Department of State’s annual report on human rights throughout the world also expressed concern for violations regarding press freedom in Guatemala in 2013.

Trial begins for another ex-guerilla leader

In Chimaltenango, the trial began on Thursday for an ex-guerilla leader accused of killing 21 indigenous farm workers in 1988 during the Civil War. The accused, Fermín Solano Barillas, has been in prison since May of last year, and could be sentenced to more than 50 years in prison.

Nine convicted in May 2011 massacre

A Guatemalan court convicted three Mexican and six Guatemalan drug traffickers last Friday in the massacre of Guatemalan farm workers in May of 2011. The sentences given were for 106 to 114 years in prison.