BTS condemns criminalization of Ancestral Authorities who put their bodies and their lives on the line for democracy

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 [...]

2025-04-24T11:40:13-04:00April 24th, 2025|Current Events in Guate|

Ongoing eviction attempts, violence, and police repression in CCDA communities in Izabal

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 [...]

Far-reaching eviction threat continues, as Tierra Nueva faces eviction attempt

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 [...]

Cooperant Update: Criminalization Continues to Threaten the Agrarian Movement

Criminalization Continues to Threaten the Agrarian Movement The CCDA speaks out against the criminalization of General Coordinator Neydi Juracán and the campesino movement. Photo credit: CCDA By Mélisande Séguin, CCDA Cooperant Criminalization is the malicious use of the criminal justice system to paralyze and repress movements for social [...]

With Less than a Month to Inauguration, Indigenous Authorities Continue to Push Back Against Coup Attempts

Ancestral Authorities stand alongside the President and Vice President elect. Photo: Festivales Solidarios Inauguration is around the corner: on January 14, Berardo Arévalo should assume the presidency, following his landslide win in August. But Guatemala's "Pact of the Corrupt" is pulling out all the stops to try to [...]

2024-10-31T11:42:55-04:00December 18th, 2023|Current Events in Guate|

100+ Organizations Demand Justice for Assassination of Xinka Leader Noé Gómez Barrera

More than a Hundred Organizations Demand Justice for Assassination of Xinka Leader Noé Gómez Barrera A sign commemorating Noé Gómez Barrera's life says, "Martyr of the social struggle: Human Rights Defender Noé Gómez Barrera. We will follow the example of his struggle." Following the murder of Xinka human [...]

2023-11-17T12:57:27-04:00November 6th, 2023|Current Events in Guate|

Xinka Parliament Recognized with Prestigious Human Rights Award

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 [...]

2023-06-28T17:19:23-04:00June 28th, 2023|Defense of Territory, General blog|

Cooperant Update: As Seasons Change, the CCDA Builds Soil, Power, and Land Defense Cases

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 Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) Shifting Seasons Come April, fireflies flit through San Lucas Tolimán at dawn. Community [...]

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|
Go to Top