The Atitlán and Tolimán volcanoes, towering over IMAP fields. Putting in the Work for the Sake of the Trees By: Georgia Sachs, Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute (IMAP) Intern I understand that I am the first person in the BTS network to spend substantial time at the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute [...]
Luis Pacheco and Hectór Chaclán criminalized for their role in protecting democracy. Photo credit: Meme Solano via Prensa Comunitaria In its latest attack on Indigenous Peoples’ collective organizing and democracy itself, the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) unjustly arrested Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán, the former president and former [...]
Ongoing eviction attempts, violence, and police repression in CCDA communities in Izabal The CCDA and a human rights commission from Costa Rica documented the inhumane conditions Q'eqchi' families in Izabal, who have been victims of evictions, have been experiencing. Photo credit: CCDA On April 7th, 2025 the communities [...]
Police attempt to evict the Tierra Nueva community. Photo credit: CCDA. On March 24th, a large contingent of police arrived at the Maya Q'eqchi' community of Tierra Nueva, located in the Alta Verapaz department. The police presented an eviction document, signed by judge Mildred Karina Juárez Alvarado, which [...]
CCDA member, Luis Xol Caal detained and facing criminalization We demand freedom for Luis Xol Caal, defender of the territory and life of the Chabil Choch community. (photo credit: CCDA) On March 15th, 2025, Luis Xol Caal, a member of the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) and [...]
An offering to the respected fire and to the ancestors: Honouring the lives of those who came before us By Javier Every March 13th, in the area called Pak’oxom in the community of Río Negro, community members, students, activists, spiritual leaders known as Ajq’ijab’, and elders gather to commemorate the [...]
Río Negro Presente: Honouring the lives of family members lost at the hands of the state By: Cristina Jerez, Rabinal Community Legal Clinic Intern On March 13 1982, the Guatemalan army and Civil Defense Patrollers (PAC) murdered 177 innocent people from the community of Río Negro. 43 years later, the [...]
Unpacking the role of the PAC in the Maya Achí Women's case On January 28, 2025, Maya Achí women survivors went to Guatemala City to demand that three ex-civil defense patrolmen (PAC) be held accountable for crimes against humanity, including sexual violence, committed against them during the Internal Armed Conflict. [...]
CCDA National Assembly: 43 years of resistance in the struggle for agrarian reform The CCDA celebrated its 43rd anniversary with a General Assembly in Quixayá. On March 2nd, 2025, the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) held their 43rd annual General Assembly in the community of Quixayá in [...]
Violent eviction in CCDA community of Río Tebernal Community members' homes were destroyed as part of the violent eviction. Photo credit: Carlos Ernesto Choc On March 5th, 2025, armed paramilitary groups entered the community of Río Tebernal in the municipality of Livingston, Izabal, and forcibly removed 35 Q’eqchi' [...]
