Violent Eviction of Xinka Community, Nueva Jerusalen

Nueva Jerusalen homes burned in violent eviction, photo credit: CCDA On the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples - Wednesday, August 9th - police and private security forces attacked the Xinka community of Nueva Jerusalen and ruthlessly burnt people's homes and possessions. Located in Escuintla, the sugar-cane [...]

Guatemala Votes with Memory: Surprising Outcomes in First Round of Presidential Elections

Guatemalan presidential elections took place on Sunday. Hopes were low in the lead-up given a slate of far-right candidates backed by the Pacto de Corruptos (Covenant of the Corrupt), high-level bribery accusations, months of rival presidential candidates’ exclusions from the race, and a context of ever-increasing repression and criminalization. But [...]

Concerns Abound as Elections Approach

Guatemala will hold elections on June 25. With none of the presidential candidates likely to receive the necessary majority to win outright, runoffs for president will almost inevitably be held in August.  Candidates Blocked Several significant presidential contenders have been excluded from the race. Popular presidential candidate, Thelma Cabrera, was [...]

Concerns Abound as Guatemalan Elections Approach

Guatemala will hold presidential, congressional, and municipal elections on Sunday, June 25. The outgoing administration, led by President Alejandro Giammattei, has been marked by corruption scandals, the dismantling of judicial and accountability systems, the criminal prosecution of judges, prosecutors, and journalists, and the ever-increasing criminalization of land defenders and entire [...]

2024-10-31T11:27:14-04:00April 15th, 2023|Current Events in Guate|

Virginia Laparra Faces Continued Detention

Former anti-corruption prosecutor Virginia Laparra Rivas faced another hearing date today. The court was considering Laparra's release from detention. Laparra, who formerly worked with the Special Prosecutor's Office against Impunity (FECI), has been arbitrarily detained since February 2022. For the sixth time, court magistrates dismissed her request for house arrest, [...]

2024-10-31T11:26:48-04:00April 14th, 2023|Current Events in Guate|

February 2022: COVID-19 Update

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous health, social and economic impact, claiming a very high number of lives in Latin American and Caribbean countries. In 2021, as the government's public health strategy shifted from mitigating the effects of confinements to preventing them through the provision of vaccines, corruption persisted. [...]

2024-10-31T11:30:59-04:00February 7th, 2022|Current Events in Guate|

Guatemala Update: June 2021

Written by: Indigo Christ and Laura Robinson The Highlands Committee of Small Farmers (CCDA) protesting at the American Embassy in Guatemala during Vice President Kamala Harris's visit. Their signs read “Kamala They are lying to you! There is corruption, political prisoners, malnutrition, hate crimes, [...]

2021-06-24T13:16:31-04:00June 24th, 2021|Current Events in Guate, General blog|
Go to Top