New analysis and firsthand accounts reveal the toll of the crackdown on immigrant communities in L.A. County and beyond. Thousands of people detained during the height of the raids remain in immigration custody or have already been deported.
One week after the Colombian elections, Community Peacemaker Teams met with local leadership in El Guayabo to collectively reflect on emerging risks, evaluate past strategies, and adapt their approach to defending their territory. Despite the exhausting challenges of ongoing resistance, the community drew strength from their shared experience, international support, and mutual care, reaffirming that their collective organization is what keeps hope and resilience alive.
The Bajo Aguán Valley in northern Honduras became a center of agrarian reform beginning in the 1970s when hundreds of families relocated to these fertile lands under the promise of economic opportunity. But its vast size and high value for agricultural production made it a highly coveted place for various agro-industrial actors, namely for the production of palm oil. The struggle of campesinos to secure land in that area has historically resulted in violence from armed groups—both state and private actors. In the past decade, there have been more than 200 victims of armed conflicts arising from movements to reclaim farmworkers’ land in the Bajo Aguán region.
A horrendous massacre occurred on May 21 in the campesino community of Rigores. Gathered in prayer on a palm plantation to begin their workday, campesinos were met by several heavily armed men wearing Honduran police uniforms (although it is unclear whether the perpetrators were actually state security forces or private actors). They opened fire, killing all 20 (including five who were minor children of some of the workers).
Starting in May, immigration attorneys began reporting that they were arriving at immigration court to find judges’ dockets packed with over 100 hearings scheduled in a single morning—a phenomenon that quickly became known as “mega master calendar hearings,” ...
The legal persecution and violence waged on Indigenous farming communities is chronic in Guatemala. The current government indicated that there might be a change coming when it met with CUC (Committee of Campesino Unity) and other land rights groups and drew up an agreement called the Acuerdo Agrario (Agrarian Agreement), signed by President Arévalo on February 7, 2024. Still, the government continues to file undounded criminal charges of usurpation against Indigenous campesinos, filing more than 8,429 cases in the last six years. With only 1% ultimately resulting in any form of conviction, this demonstrates that most of them do not have any basis. Disputes over rights to Indigenous lands also result in deadly violence; 15-25 people are being killed every year.
Working for the organization Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC), José Acté has been an important leader and defender of Indigenous rights. On June 17, while returning home from work in the village of El Rancho, municipality San Agustín Acasaguastlán, Guatemala Department, he was stopped and arrested. He was unjustly accused of usurpation, theft, and aggravated robbery and put into detention. Because the government prosecutors did not appear at a scheduled judicial hearing this morning, his detention has been prolonged.
In our letter to authorities, we urged his release and dropping of the unfounded criminal charges.
Good News: Two weeks after our letter, a judge dismissed the case, ruling that it did not have sufficient merit to proceed. José Acté was greeted by friends and supporters as he left the courthouse, now a free man (for the time being).
Mega-projects like hydroelectric dams are promoted to international financiers as progress to help poor countries. But peak behind the curtain and we see the investor-profit motives of private actors, both foreign and domestic.
The International Labour Organization’s Convention 169 (commonly known as ILO 169) is a binding international convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, adopted in 1989, which guarantees their rights and requires prior consultation for measures affecting their territories, such as the construction of hydroelectric dams or large-scale mechanized mining. In the Western Highlands of Guatemala (Huehuetenango Department), Indigenous communities have been organizing resistance to the Pojom I and Pojom II dam projects. Although both were already under construction (in violation of ILO 169), in August 2025 the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Energy and Mines to complete a consultation process within 12 months while allowing construction to continue. Communities have challenged that ruling before the Constitutional Court, arguing that a consultation after the continued construction cannot satisfy the requirement that it be “prior.”
As is common, defenders of land rights have been criminalized in this case. Rigoberto Juárez and Ermitaño López were arrested in 2015 for their peaceful role in opposing the hydroelectric projects. After being declared not guilty of serious charges in 2016 and released, an Appeals Court in 2021 reversed the ruling and significantly increased their sentences (to 8 and 24 years). After the Constitutional Court confirmed these sentences in February 2026, IRTF has joined with Indigenous rights organizations to review their convictions and address the documented procedural violations that led to their sentencing.
Members of the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP) are subjected to continuous surveillance, intimidation, and credible threats against their lives. Beginning in March, CIJP member Juan Carlos Gaona, began receiving text messages. The first stated that an operation to murder him in Sincelejo, Sucre Department, had failed only by chance due to the presence of an Army truck near the place where he was holding a meeting. The message described his recent activities in detail, revealing that he was under surveillance, and warned that he would not be as fortunate next time, with the clear intention of attacking him and other members.
This incident is not an isolated occurrence but more a symbolic case of the danger faced by human right defenders in Colombia by illegal armed groups who directly target those who support and accompany victims of human rights violations. The failure of the state to fully implement the protection scheme ordered by of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Protection Measures 629-03) needs to be addressed now. When defenders are silenced through threats, fear, and violence, the protection of all victims is placed at risk.
We’re excited to announce that Equal Exchange will be donating a portion of their sales to IRTF when you shop their online store during 2026.
To shop Equal Exchange click here. Find organic and fairly traded coffees, teas, chocolate, cocoa, nuts, dried fruits, and even olive oil—all from small farmer co-ops, available by the case for stocking up.
Promo code: IRTFDonate . Enter this code when you check out and Equal Exchange will donate 10% of your purchase back to IRTF!
Equal Exchange was founded as a solidarity organization in 1986 to support small farmers in Nicaragua by importing their coffee despite the US embargo. Forty years later, this worker-owned co-op continues to prove that a more democratic food system is possible.
To shop Equal Exchange click here
In addition to joining us for an evening of music, dance, appetizers and refreshments at IRTF’s annual Latin Dance, participate in the oppurtunity to win wonderful and specially curated raffle prizes. By purchasing an entry ticket you are actively contributing to IRTF's mission of promoting human rights and solidarity with the people of Central America and Colombia.
to purchase ticket now click here
Human rights groups and defense attorneys are demanding the immediate release of Salvadoran opposition leaders, noting that the state's investigation deadline expires on June 14 with absolutely no evidence presented after two years of detention.
