Land Defender in Jalapa CODECA Leadership Role Shot and Killed
Ramon Jiménez Lopéz–human rights and land defender–was killed on September 20 in the community of Volcan La Paz, Santa María Xalapán, Jalapa. After Jiménez failed to return home from work, his family went to search for him and found his body in a ditch. He had been shot several times and hacked with a machete. Lopéz was a community leader and part of the leadership in the Jalapa chapter of the Campesino Development Committee (CODECA). In communique, the Human Rights Ombudsman called on the Public Prosecutor’s Office to “conduct a prompt and effective investigation to ensure the identification of all responsible parties.” CODECA in a statement condemned the murder and noted that since 2018, 21 members of CODECA have been killed. The committee denounced that “none of these cases has achieved justice.”
US Department of State Adds Attorney General Consuelo Porras to the Engel List
Monday afternoon, the US Department of State in a press release named Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras and six other Central American officials to the Engel List. The other officials named include Ángel Pineda, Secretary General of the Public Ministry. The State Department cited both for obstructing investigations. According to the State Department, “Porras’ pattern of obstruction included ordering prosecutors in Guatemala’s Public Ministry to ignore cases based on political considerations and actively undermining investigations carried out by the Special Prosecutor Against Impunity, including by firing its lead prosecutor.”
President Giammettei responded with a series of tweets in defense of the Attorney General and Secretary General Pinedas, claiming they were named to the list without proper evidence. He condemned the actions of the State Department, arguing that the naming of the officials to the list constituted “a lack of respect towards international relations that, first, makes an accusation without proof or support; second, violates human rights; and, third, gives value to the declarations of those who have personal interests and pending processes in Guatemala.” The Attorney General’s Office echoed the president’s sentiments in a statement, characterizing as “regrettable” what it called “these types of actions, whose objective is not the fight against corruption, but rather political, biased and ideological actions.”
On Wednesday, several opposition political parties, including Bancada Winaq, introduced a resolution in the Guatemalan Congress that urged Attorney General Porras to immediately present her resignation, since her impartiality and independence had been compromised. Congress did not have a quorum, however, and did not vote on the resolution. Outside of the Attorney General’s Office, protesters gathered to demand her resignation.
Motion to Recuse Judge in the “Death Squad Diary” Case Rejected
On September 22, the Second Chamber of the Court of Appeals for High Risk Proceedings heard and unanimously denied a motionfiled by retired military officers Jacobo Esdras Salán Sánchez and José Daniel Monterroso Villagrán to recuse Judge Miguel Ángel Gálvez. Gálvez is currently serving as one of the judges in the trial against eleven former military and police officers accused of forced disappearance and crimes against humanity. (Read NISGUA’s report on the case here.) The defense had argued that Gálvez had “ideological reasons” to harm the retired military and former police officers and therefore needed to be recused from the case. Families of the victims in a press release argued that seeking to remove the judge was a delay tactic. The case will now move on to the evidentiary phase, in which which evidence is presented to determine if the case can be brought to trial.
National and International Organizations Voice Support for Judge Erika Aifán
National and international organizations came to the defense of Judge Erika Aifán after the Constitutional Court revoked a provisional stay against a process to remove her immunity. In revoking the injunction, the Court allowed for the possibility that Aifán’s immunity could be removed and she could be criminally prosecuted. In response, the Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Guatemala (UDEFEGUA) co-signed a letter along with 270 other people and institutions in support of Judge Aifán. The letter condemns the pattern of attacks against the High Risk Court Judge, calls on the Constitutional Court to suspend the pretrial process against her, and urges “the international community to pay attention to this democratic backsliding that Guatemala is experiencing and to reject these practices.”
In a press release, the Forum of International NGOs (FONGI), comprised of 31 international organizations, expressed concern over the judicial proceedings against Aifán. FONGI noted that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), in recommendations to the Guatemalan government, has pointed to the constant criminalization of judges of the High Risk Courts, among them Erika Aifán, who, as the IACHR has noted, has protective measures from the IACHR. In its statement, FONGI called on the Constitutional Court to comply with international law and establish measures to protect justice officials and investigators that guarantee their ability to carry out their work, free of threats, intimidation, and other acts that constitute attacks on their work.
Aifán thanked her supporters in a tweet on Thursday, saying, “I am extremely grateful for the support that has been shown on my behalf. It inspires me to continue defending judicial independence and that we all fight to build a more fraternal, more just, and equitable Guatemala.”
Community of Laguna Larga Condemns Government Inaction After Four Years
Lawyers from the Human Rights Law Firm, Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA), and Congressman Aldo Dávila in a press conference yesterday demanded compliance from the Guatemalan government in the case of Laguna Larga. In 2017, National Civil Police and military forces violently evicted 111 families from their homes. While the communities had been sustainably living in the area, a protected nature reserve, since 1984–five years before the protected area was established–they were forced to resettle near the border of Mexico. Despite receiving protective measures from the IACHR and a favorable ruling by the Constitutional Court (CC), the Guatemalan government has failed to protect their rights to health, education and decent housing.
According to the IACHR protectice measures and the ruling of the CC, the Guatemalan government must adopt immediate measures to guarantee the community’s health and safety, as well as continue dialogue to reach a lasting solution. The government, however, has failed to provide any viable options for resettlement, offering pieces of land that do not meet the community’s needs and would require them to pay for 50% of the land. According to lawyer Carlos Martínez, “The people have been deceived; the Guatemalan state has not been transparent in the negotiations [but] turns a solution that should constitute a reparation for their rights into a debt for the people.”