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Guatemala: News & Updates

Guatemala had the longest and bloodiest civil war in Central American history: 36 years (1960-96). The US-backed military was responsible for a genocide (“scorched earth policy”) that wiped out 200,000 mostly Maya indigenous civilians.  War criminals are still being tried in the courts.

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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Guatemala, 2/24/2017
February 24, 2017
Unjust detention of Abelino Chub Caal, indigenous and environmental defender in Izabal Dept., where agricultural and extractive industry companies are in land disputes with local communities.
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News Article
Hydroelectric Dam Conflicts Bring Back Past Horrors for Indigenous Communities
February 23, 2017
Guatemala’s indigenous communities have worked tirelessly to recuperate their communal lands in the 20 years since the end of the country’s 36-year-long internal armed conflict. But these communities have faced the constant threat of dispossession from mining companies, the large-scale agro-industry, and the construction of hydroelectric dams.
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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Guatemala, 1/25/2017
January 25, 2017
Killing of indigenous and land rights defender Sebastian Alonso Juan, age 73, when armed men began shooting at demonstrators during a peaceful protest against hydroelectric projects Pojom I and Pojom II in San Matea Ixtatan in Huehuetenango Department.
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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Guatemala, 11/25/2016
November 25, 2016
Assassination of environmental defender Jeremy Abraham Barrios Lima, assistant to the executive director of the Guatemalan Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (CALAS), and a former student leader.
PDF icon 2016_11_25_ua259_16_guatemala_letter.pdf
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News Article
SOA Watch activists vow to keep their hands on the plow
November 19, 2016

No arrests with sparse crowd at SOA Watch protest

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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Guatemala, 9/25/2016
September 25, 2016
Concern for the safety and well-being of Angélica Choc, a Mayan Q’eqchi’ human rights defender from the municipality of El Estor in Izabal Department.
PDF icon 2016_09_25_frontline_guatemala_letter.pdf
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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Guatemala, 9/23/2016
September 23, 2016
Attack against Esteban Hermelindo Cux and Fredy Qib, two indigenous community leaders. On September 2, approximately 20 masked men armed with machetes and firemarms attacked the home of Esteban Hermelindo Cux, an indigenous Q’eqchi’ organizer in Panzós in Alto Verapaz Department.
PDF icon 2016_09_23_gsp_guatemala_letter.pdf
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News Article
Letter to Obama to grant Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for refugees from EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, AND GUATEMALA
September 8, 2016

RENEWED REQUEST FOR TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS FOR EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, AND GUATEMALA IN LIGHT OF CONTINUED INJUNCTION IN ​UNITED STATES V. TEXAS

Dear President Obama:

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RRN Letter
RRN Letter: Guatemala, 8/26/2016
August 26, 2016
Escalating wave of intimidation against legal officials. At 6am on August 15 in Guatemala City, eight armed men posing as police officers forced their way into the house of Ramón Cadena Rámila, Central America Director of the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
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Event
Summer Solidarity Coffeehouse
August 5, 2016
Live Music. Poetry. Refreshments. Updates from IRTF staff about Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. With special guests from Colombia (Caldwell Manners, CPT) and El Salvador (Leslie Schuld, CIS).
PDF icon Flyer for Summer Solidarity Coffeehouse
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