The Xinka Parliament accepts the Robert F. Kennedy Foundation's Human Rights Award, photo credit: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation On June 6, the Xinka Parliament was awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation's annual Human Rights Award. The award honors human rights defenders who face oppression [...]
Members of the CCDA and BTS travel to Macho Creek to learn community members' ties to the land. Photo credit: Raphael Freston By: Raphael Freston, a cooperant with the Highlands Small Farmers Committee (CCDA) Shifting Seasons Come April, fireflies flit through San Lucas Tolimán at dawn. Community members [...]
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 [...]
By Jim Hodgson An Indigenous Xinca community on the Pacific coast, south of the Guatemalan capital, has the support of a Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking The Silence Network (BTS) partner in its effort to remain on their land. The 53 families of Nueva Jerusalén (New Jerusalem) have the backing of the Comité [...]
Written by Laura Monday, January 24th 2022, and Thursday, January 27th 2022 Pedrina Lopez de Paz in the foreground, Paulina Ixtapá in the background photographed in the foreground of the courtroom on January, 24th, 2022. Photo Credits: Verdad y Justicia. The court reconvened Monday morning to hear [...]
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 Written by Lisa One of the 36 Maya Achi Women Survivors in Court listening to the concluding arguments of the defense on January 19th, 2022. Photo Credit: Lisa Rankin Today the defence presented their conclusions in support of their clients. As they didn’t [...]
Tuesday, January 18 Written by Lisa The day started off with the final witness for the prosecution, the sub-inspector of the Guatemalan National Civil Police who led the capture of Gabriel Cuxum Alvarado in his home in Guatemala City in May 2021. Despite the fact he was using a false [...]
Monday, January 17 Written by Lisa Today was another short day, with only two witnesses. Both are from the forensics department of the Guatemalan National Civil Police and testified on the comparison of the fingerprints of Gabriel Cuxum Alvarado, who was using an assumed name to hide from authorities. Both [...]
Friday, January 14, 2021 Written by Este [Testimonies given on this day were graphic: describing the context, reality, and mentality of not only survivors but perpetrators of genocide.] Photo taken in Rio Negro, on March 13th, 2020 (Photo Credits: Laura Robinson) Day 9 of the trial lasted half [...]
Thursday, January 13th, 2022 Written by María and Lisa Vinicio Lopez Galvez while giving testimony before the court on January 13, 2022. (Photo Credit: Verdad y Justicia.) On the 8th day of trial, the first witness was Vinicio Lopez Galvez who worked for the “Temporary High Level Commission”. He [...]
