In hopeful news, Indigenous land rights activist Lolita Chávez has returned to her home in the K’iche after seven years of exile. In 2017, she suffered an attempt on her life for her efforts to curtail illegal logging and defend the environment, forcing her to flee to Spain. Notable community leaders, supporters, and President Bernardo Arévalo visited K’iche to celebrate her homecoming on June 28th.

Meanwhile, in the trial of former General Benedicto Lucas Garcia, genocide survivors from Guatemala’s civil war continued to give their testimony, helping to pave the way to a future of greater historic memory and justice.

At the same time, President Arévalo continues to face attacks by the Public Ministry (MP) and Attorney General Consuelo Porras. This is despite overwhelming international condemnation of the attempts by Porras and the MP to overturn  Arévalo’s electoral victory in 2023. Porras, along with other officials, has been sanctioned for corruption and undemocratic conduct by over forty countries, including the United States.

Corrupt actors continue to weaponize the justice system to criminalize independent judges, lawyers, anti-corruption prosecutors, and other justice workers. In early July, Virginia Laparra, a well-respected former prosecutor, was sentenced to 5 years of commutable prison, a fine of 50,000 quetzales, and a prohibition barring her from holding public office for ten years. On July 8, the GHRC co-signed a letter condemning this ruling and pledging our continued support to Virginia Laparra.

We continue to stand with Virginia Laparra, and all others who defend the rule of law in Guatemala. In these uncertain times, the upcoming  judicial elections have the potential to significantly impact the human rights situation in Guatemala for years to come. We sincerely thank you for your solidarity and support!

Legal Proceedings

• Virginia Laparra Endures Continued Judicial Retaliation for Anti-Corruption Efforts, Culminating in Forced Exile

Virginia Laparra continues to face legal persecution for her work fighting against corruption. The former prosecutor from Quetzaltenango initially faced spurious charges of ‘abuse of authority’ after filing a complaint against Judge Lesther Castellanos Rodas. In December 2022, she was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison in a case widely denounced —including by the United Nations— as arbitrary and inconsistent in basis and condemned as government retaliation against Laparra’s anti-corruption work.

On May 27th, 2024, only a few months after Laparra’s release from house arrest, the Public Ministry slapped the Prosecutor with another unfounded charge, claiming she had leaked confidential information to the press during a 2017 anti-corruption investigation. On June 6, 2024, Laparra was forced to renounce her position as a prosecutor officially, citing the barrage of criminal prosecution that had made it impossible for her to continue.

On July 8, 2024, Laparra was sentenced to five years in prison in a second retaliatory trial, which too received widespread condemnation, most notably by US Assistant Secretary of State Brian A. Nichols and Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers. After the trial’s conclusion on July 18, 2024, Laparra announced she would go into exile to “preserve her life,” adding that the persecution she had suffered was “solely the result of doing my job with independence and maintaining my dignity.” In a show of support, President Bernardo Arévalo posted, “While Virginia finds herself obligated to leave the country, the corrupt walk impunity through the streets. May the strength and honesty of lawyers like Virginia guide the changes the justice system needs.”

• Justice for the Forced Disappearance and Torture of Efraín Bámaca Velásquez Delayed Again

On July 16, 2024, the case against 14 former military officials for the 1992 disappearance and torture of guerilla leader Efraín Bámaca suffered yet another setback. Jennifer Harbury, Bámaca’s wife, was blocked from providing her anticipatory testimony in a Guatemalan courtroom.

As the hearing in High Risk Court “A” began a lawyer from the Public Prosecutor’s office announced that an injunction had been issued in favor of one of the accused, Salvador Eduardo Rubio Parra. The injunction annuls the actions of the Human Rights Prosecutor of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Bámaca Velásquez case and prevents any further investigations or legal proceedings.

Presiding judge Claudette Domínguez, voicing frustration with the last-minute notification of the injunction, was compelled to suspend the hearing. Alejandro Axpuac, the plaintiff’s attorney, also voiced his indignation stating “The injunction is fraudulent and illegal, it goes against the sentence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.”

Efraín Bámaca, also known as “Comandante Everado,” was a guerrilla fighter who disappeared after a clash with the Guatemalan army in March 1992. The military claimed he died in combat, but the accounts of other captured combatants, as well as declassified US documents, indicate that he was abducted and held under torture for nearly a year and a half before being executed. In 2002, the Inter-American Court ruled in favor of Harbury and ordered the Guatemalan government to investigate and prosecute those responsible for Bámaca’s abduction, torture, and murder.

For the past 32 years, Harbury, a Harvard-trained lawyer, has fought to bring those responsible to justice and the Guatemalan courts have repeatedly hindered these efforts. After it was revealed that Bámaca’s captors and torturers were paid CIA assets, then-President Clinton declassified archives on involvement in Guatemalan war crimes that have now been used in dozens of human rights cases.

In 2000, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights ruled in Harbury’s favor, and in 2006, the Guatemalan State offered a formal apology. Guatemalan courts, however, have failed to prosecute those responsible.

“What happened yesterday in the case after 32 years is very typical, they thwart everything so that impunity continues along with corruption,” Harbury noted.

Judicial corruption in the Guatemalan court system continues to be a major roadblock to pursuing justice and human rights, making upcoming court elections all the more important.

• Genocide Trial of Benedicto Lucas García: Experts Testify to Horrific Levels of Destruction

June 27, 2024, marked 41 days of hearings in the trial of former General Benedicto Lucas García for genocide against indigenous Ixil communities in 1981 and 1982. Hundreds of testimonies from experts and survivors have described massacres, sexual violence, ecological destruction, forced disappearances, and the mass displacement of thousands of families from their ancestral lands.

On June 11th and 12th, experts Eyal Neizman and Paulo Carvalho testified that the ecological destruction carried out by government soldiers constituted an act of cultural genocide intended to erase indigenous ways of life. Neizman, an expert on forensic architecture, said that the label of genocide is appropriate because there was a clear intent by the government to eliminate Ixil ways, considered by the army to be a threat to national security. Carvalho affirmed that the goal of the government soldiers, led by Lucas García, was to erase Ixil culture. The army utilized a scorched earth strategy, burning massive swathes of indigenous Ixil land in the Quiché Department in addition to killings, acts of sexual violence, and razed villages.

• Survivors Recount Atrocities During Testimony in Benedicto Lucas Garcia Trial

On June 18 and 19th, 2024, the court heard the testimony of six Ixil survivors from the village of Ilom in Chajul, Quiché Department. One survivor, María Caba Caba, told the court that her husband had been taken and killed by government soldiers who later set fire to their home. Forcing her and her son to seek refuge in the mountains and survive on herbs for the next five years.

A witness to the crime, José Iztep, a resident of the nearby village of Xix, reported that he, too, fled into the mountains after massacres in his town and the surrounding areas, where he survived for three years.

Witness Juan Cruz told the court that government soldiers killed his wife and two children.

Witness Tiburcio Utuy recalled the displacement of at least 1,900 families from several local villages to the mountains. Caba Caba, Asicona, and Cruz identified the attackers as government soldiers based on their camouflage uniforms and because they spoke Spanish instead of any Mayan language.

On June 20, 2024, the court heard the testimony of two more survivors from the village of Jauventau in Chajul municipality. Witness María Gómez reported that soldiers killed several community members in addition to burning their houses, crops, and livestock. They killed her son and committed acts of sexual violence. Witness Sebastián Saquij reported that he, along with other members of the community, were forced by army soldiers to go with them to an army base, where several of them were killed.

Human Rights Defenders

• Indigenous Activist Lolita Chávez Returns from Exile, Calling for an End to the Persecution of Human Rights Defenders

Mayan feminist, human rights defender, and community activist Lolita Chávez returned to Guatemala on June 28 after seven years of exile in Spain. She was forced to leave in 2017 following an assassination attempt for her activism against deforestation in the Quiché Department. In an event attended by activists and President Bernardo Arévalo, she called on the government to increase protections for human rights defenders and to facilitate the return of those in exile. Lolita also insisted on the need to protect Indigenous communal lands and end evictions, saying, “Wherever I walked, I carried with me a dream of returning to this sacred land.”

Chávez has advocated extensively against government mining permits issued without the consultation of local K’iche communities, as well as deforestation and evictions from indigenous lands. The 2017 assassination attempt, the sixth attempt on her life, was carried out by men associated with a logging company engaged in illegal deforestation. In 2013, Lolita was hosted by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission in Washington, D.C., during a speaking tour of the United States and Canada.

•  UN Denounces Arbitrary Detention of Journalist José Rubén Zamora

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled on July 2, 2024, that Guatemalan journalist José Rubén Zamora is being held arbitrarily in prison. Zamora is the founder and editor of the El Periódico newspaper. Throughout his thirty-year career, he has reported extensively on corruption and the links between government officials and organized crime.

In July of 2022, Zamora was arrested on money laundering charges, a move many saw as an act of retaliation by the government of then-President Alejandro Giammattei. Zamora had been reporting extensively on corruption in the Giammattei administration. The arrest was widely condemned within Guatemala and internationally. The UN group’s statement asserts that Zamora’s arrest “was the result of the legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression.”

A week earlier, an appeals judge revoked a lower court’s ruling that would have allowed Zamora house arrest. That move drew condemnation from US Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols, who called it “another example of unacceptable threats against press freedom from the court [and] the Public Ministry.”
Governance

• OAS Observers Scrutinize Judicial Elections, Attempting to Counter Powerful Forces of Corruption

On June 24, a Special Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) began observing Guatemala’s judicial electoral process. The three experts are academics and lawyers from across Latin America with experience in human rights and judicial independence. They will report any obstacles to participation or acts of corruption during the electoral process. The Mission has opened a communication channel with private institutions, civil society organizations, and citizens so that they can present any information that might be relevant to the Mission’s work. The invitation to the OAS was extended by the government of Guatemala in response to the notorious corruption and lack of transparency in previous judicial elections.

On July 4, legislators swore in the thirty-seven members of the commission that nominate potential judges before they are voted on in the legislature. The commission comprises law professors, representatives of the Commission of Lawyers and Notaries of Guatemala, and sitting judges. The body is presided over by a representative selected among Guatemalan university presidents.

The composition of the new judiciary has the potential to make or break President Arévolo’s democratic reformist agenda, which already faces considerable challenges. In a June speech at the United Nations, Arévalo declared the judicial elections “under siege by criminal networks.”

• Public Ministry Targets Semilla with False Criminal Charges

On June 19, Judge Fredy Orellana accepted a request from the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) and authorized the Public Ministry to carry out “a new phase” of the criminal proceedings against the Semilla party.

The request was made by the Public Ministry prosecutor Leonor Morales, who the US State Department affirms has “undermined democratic processes or institutions” through a “politically motivated investigation to cast doubt on certified election results to disrupt the presidential transition.” Judge Orellana has also been listed as a corrupt and undemocratic actor for having “undermined democratic processes or institutions by authorizing unsubstantiated, politically motivated criminal charges.”

On July 2, Judge Orellana extended the provisional suspension of Semilla’s legal status as a political party and froze its assets. The Public Ministry’s continued attempts to sabotage Arévalo’s presidency and the results of his election exemplify the importance of upcoming judicial elections in determining the future of his reform agenda.

August 2nd, 2024

The post July 2024 Update first appeared on Guatemala Human Rights Commission/ USA.

State of Siege in Guatemala

Take Action! 

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo has instituted a state of emergency in Guatemala following a series of police killings carried out by gang members. The specific state of emergency he has implemented, called a state of siege, implies the suspension of certain constitutional rights. Arévalo declared the state of siege on Sunday, January 18, the same day more than a dozen National Civil Police officers in Guatemala City were shot by gang members in a series of coordinated attacks. Ten police officers died from their wounds and seven others were injured.

The shootings followed the quelling of coordinated riots by gang members in three separate prisons on January 18. The gang members were protesting the transfer of leaders to other prisons and advocating for other privileges. Inmates took dozens of prison staff hostage. Police forces managed to free the hostages. In apparent retaliation, jailed gang members tasked gang members outside the walls of the prison with carrying out the murders of police officers.

The Guatemalan Congress on January 19 approved the state of siege for 30 days, and it will be applied nationwide. Under the state of siege, the military and police are allowed to arrest suspects without a warrant. During the state of siege Guatemalans will maintain some rights that were suspended under such states in prior administrations.  Nonetheless, the suspension of basic guarantees puts the general population at significant risk, especially vulnerable sectors, such as social and Indigenous leaders and others who comprise groups that have been falsely accused of crimes.

Action:

Write to the Guatemalan Ambassador in Washington.

Ask the Arévalo administration to guarantee the following:

1. The use of the state of siege solely to effectively dismantle gang-related criminal networks with the penitentiary system, while respecting the fundamental rights of the prisoners, such as the right to life and physical safety;
2. The end of the state of siege after 30 days;
3. The safety of the general public;
4. The restriction of warrantless arrests to suspects in the attacks on the police officers, exempting the general public from this type of arrest;
5. The safety of those in prison, including political prisoners, who in the context of prison violence could be the targets of attack.

TAKE ACTION

The post State of Siege in Guatemala Take Action! first appeared on Guatemala Human Rights Commission/ USA.

After ever more brazen moves by the country’s Public Ministry to undermine the presidential election results, Guatemalans are in the streets, risking their own safety for their democracy. Please read the news below and be ready to add your voice to those of the Guatemalans fighting for the most basic of rights. 

Election News 

Guatemalans Convoke National Strike 

On October 2, thousands of Guatemalans began a national strike blocking major highways throughout the country and massing in front of the Public Ministry to protest flagrant efforts on the part of the Attorney General’s Office to undermine the results of the recent presidential election, including the confiscation on September 29 of hundreds of thousands of documents containing the election results. As of October 5, the strike continues, with 27 highways blocked. The protest, organized by the 48 Cantons of Totonicapán and the Indigenous authorities of Sololá and taken up by Indigenous authorities, taxi drivers, universities,  students, and many others throughout the country, began with the blocking of at least 16 points on critical roads. The protesters are calling for the resignations of Attorney General Porras, prosecutor Rafael Curruchice, and Judge Fredy Orellana. The Ministry of the Interior has stated that, if necessary, the use of police force against demonstrators will be authorized. There are concerns of increasing civil unrest, especially after October 31, when the electoral process officially ends and the Public Ministry could attempt to cancel Semilla’s registration as a political party.

Public Ministry Raids TSE, Confiscates Ballot Boxes

On September 29, the Public Ministry’s Special Prosecutor’s Office on Impunity raided the installations of the Supreme Election Tribunal (TSE), forcibly seizing 125,000 documents and original records of the general elections. Accompanied by masked and armed National Civil Police Officers, Public Ministry officials loaded boxes filled with election results into trucks and drove them away in what President-elect Bernardo Arévalo is calling a slow-motion coup. TSE magistrates, according to video footage, attempted to prevent the Public Ministry agents from removing the boxes of tallies from the property. TSE Judge Blanca Alfaro reported that there was a physical confrontation between TSE judges and Public Ministry agents.  In August, Public Ministry officials had also raided the TSE offices, disrupting the chain of custody of votes, opening boxes, and photographing the votes, reportedly to investigate a claim of electoral fraud they said was made by a private citizen. The election results had already been certified in favor of Arévalo, and the election observers documented no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing. 

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States in Guatemala expressed profound concern about the motivations, legality, and consequences of the TSE raids and confiscation of election materials. On September 29, the Mission in a statement said the raids were “carried out without due cause, violating the functions, independence and autonomy of the electoral body.” The Mission continued, “For the OAS/EOM, this permanent siege without grounds or clear motivation by the MP [Public Ministry] constitutes a political persecution reminiscent of those carried out by authoritarian regimes. An attack of this nature is unprecedented in electoral observations in recent decades and constitutes a shameful example for the hemisphere. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has chosen to ignore the numerous calls from the international community and its behavior violates democratic standards.” Corresponding court orders were not shown to the relevant TSE personnel, according to the Mission, constituting a serious violation of due process, as well as “an obvious abuse of power and a violation of constitutional rights and the law of political parties.”The Mission added, “With his irresponsible actions, Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche is flagrantly violating the sovereignty of the Guatemalan people.” The Mission went on to say that “the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office are an intolerable violation of Guatemala’s Constitution (…)” that is “altering the constitutional order” and that there are no factors that cast doubt on the electoral results.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of Guatemala in a September 30 statement called this moment “the most difficult in thirty years in Guatemala,” pointing out that “the rule of law is being subverted.” The conference called on the Supreme Court to fulfill its duties and urged the Constitutional Court to make a pronouncement, given the extreme violation of the constitutional order.  

Assistant Secretary of State Brian A. Nichols condemned the raid in a tweet and said, “We will pursue accountability for those who participate in efforts to undermine the democratic transition to President-elect Arévalo.” Matthew Miller, Spokesman for the Department of State, stated that visas would be denied for individuals implicated in efforts to obstruct the democratic process. Attorney General Consuelo Porras, Prosecutor Rafael Curruchiche, and Judge Fredy Orellana already are under such restrictions, along with a number of other Guatemalans on the Engel List, and this measure has not had any corrective effect.

The European Union in a statement expressed deep concern “over the continuing and persistent attempts to undermine these election results through selective and arbitrary legal and procedural actions that are not in line with Guatemala’s constitution nor with the international and regional standards that Guatemala has subscribed to.” The EU said it “remains fully committed to support inclusive and sustainable development in the country” and “stands ready to work closely with the administration of President-elect Arévalo on these and other shared priorities like the promotion of democratic governance and the rule of law, when he takes office in January 2024.”

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk also expressed “deep concern at the sustained measures, including actions by judicial authorities, which appear to be taken to undermine the outcome of the electoral process in Guatemala.” He  noted that this was the fourth raid of the TSE headquarters in the post-electoral context and said “[t]here are serious concerns over the compatibility of these actions with international human rights law, as well as with the Guatemalan Constitution and national legislation.”

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in an October 4 communique referred to the confiscation of documents a “theft” and urged the State of Guatemala to “respect the outcomes of the general elections and cease the actions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office that jeopardize the constitutional order and the independence of the branches of government.” The IACHR noted that a number of situations point to the progressive deterioration of democratic institutions, the rule of law, and the human rights situation in Guatemala. These include “continual interference in the electoral process in the form of interpretations of regulations and practices that effectively prevented individuals and political parties from taking part in the elections, the delay of more than two weeks in announcing the results of the first round of the elections, [and] the attempt to suspend the registration as a legal entity of the Semilla Movement to prevent its members from being awarded public positions and the raid on its headquarters. Other matters of concern include the issuing of an arrest warrant against an official of the Citizen Registry at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, raids and threats targeting judges of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and the initiation of impeachment proceedings against them. There have also been threats to the life and physical integrity of Bernardo Arévalo de León and Karin Herrera Aguilar, the presidential ticket of the Semilla Movement, which resulted in the IACHR granting precautionary measures.”

Arévalo Travels to US to Meet with OAS, State Department and White House Officials

President-elect Arévalo met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on October 2, as well as with White House officials, to discuss how the United States can assist in facilitating a peaceful transition of power from current President Alejandro Giammettai to Arévalo on January 14. Secretary Blinken expressed concern about the situation in Guatemala. Arévalo reported, “We exchanged and reiterated our commitment to ensuring that democracy prevails and that respect for the vote of Guatemalans is guaranteed. We also committed to mutual collaboration in creating development opportunities for the country.” The US Department of State has condemned Guatemala Attorney General Consuelo Porras as “corrupt” and “undemocratic.”

Public Ministry Requests Removal of TSE Judges’ Immunity 

On September 27, the Public Ministry filed a request with the Supreme Court asking that the judicial immunity of Supreme Electoral Tribunal judges be lifted so that the judges could be investigated for alleged irregularities in the funding and acquisition of the computer system that was used in the presidential election. The office gave as reasons for the request “the possible commission of the crimes of fraud, breach of duties and abuse of authority.” The request was filed by four incumbent Supreme Court judges, including Blanca Stalling, as well as several alternate magistrates. The effort to strip the TSE judges immunity and prosecute them is viewed as part of an ongoing effort by the Public Ministry to delegitimize President-elect Arévalo’s Semilla Party and his victory in the presidential election. 

Corruption in the Courts:

Judge Ruano Flees into Exile 

Former Judge Carlos Ruano, recognized by the United States as an anti-corruption champion, has fled into exile following persecution for his denunciation of Judge Blanca Stalling. He stated “I’ve been put in a high-risk situation, and I had no other option than to seek protection outside the country.” After Ruano denounced Stalling for pressuring him to give favorable treatment to her son in a corruption case, he resigned and made the decision to leave Guatemala to avoid criminalization and incarceration. After resigning, Ruano no longer has the protections and immunity that come with the judicial position, motivating his decision to leave the country. More than thirty judges and prosecutors have fled into exile since President Alejandro Giammattei took office. (See our September 15 update, on our blog, for more context on this and the news below.)

Attorney Claudia González Remanded to Pretrial Detention

After a month of detention following her arrest on August, Attorney Claudia González’s initial hearing has concluded; Judge Jimi Bremer ordered that González be remanded to pretrial detention. Guatemalan law allows for pretrial detention if there is a risk that the defendant will flee or obstruct the investigation. González is a respected attorney who was working on pivotal cases involving other criminalized attorneys and judges, including Virginia Laparra and Juan Francisco Sandoval, and she was former lead attorney for the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala. She is being persecuted by Judge Jimi Bremer for her work leading the case against Supreme Court Judge Blanca Stalling. González is being charged  “abuse of authority”–a charge that can only be levied against public functionaries–despite the fact that she has never worked as a public official. González has filed three appeals. The prosecutor’s office will have three months to build their case against González. The persecution of Claudia González is the latest case in the ongoing harassment of anti-corruption prosecutors, which has been denounced internationally.

Justice:

Hearings continue in the trial of soldiers accused of responsibility in the 2012 “Cumbre de Alaska” massacre

Nearly 11 years after seven peaceful, Indigenous protesters were shot and killed by Guatemalan soldiers and many more injured, hearings continue as the Public Ministry’s witnesses testified before the court. José David Ordóñez, the mayor of Chuculjuyup, placed the blame for the massacre on former President Otto Pérez Molina and former Interior Minister Mauricio López Bonilla, stating that the accused soldiers were only fulfilling orders from Molina and Bonilla. Retired General Arturo Urizar González testified that he received orders to support the National Civil Police at Kilometer 170, where the protest was taking place. He also told the court that on October 4, 2012, he received an order to form a security squad. This contradicts the defense’s stance that the police and military did not plan the massacre.

Migration:

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF call for humanitarian aid for thousands of migrants in Esquipulas

The city of Esquipulas, in the eastern department of Chiquimula, is overwhelmed by thousands of migrants en route to the United States, driven by insecurity and employment and economic difficulties. The city has a limited capacity to provide humanitarian aid to the migrants, whose numbers increased by 200 percent in June and July, compared to the start of 2023. From January to September of 2023, 400,000 migrants passed through the Darien Gap on their way to the United States, many passing through Guatemala. The migrants are mostly Venezuelan and Honduran, although IOM recently reports an increase in migrants from China, West Africa, Haiti, and Ecuador. Between April and August, 100,000 migrants passed through Esquipulas, 18 percent of whom were minors. IOM and UNICEF have deployed five mobile units to provide psychosocial support and primary care to the children, but their resources are overwhelmed. 

The post Guatemala Democracy and Human Rights Update first appeared on Guatemala Human Rights Commission/ USA.

The report uses the term “revenge strategies” to describe a public policy implemented by the current administration to punish and silence all dissident voices. Tactics included harassment, intimidation, defamation, and violence against defenders. UDEFEGUA identified criminalization as the most common form of attack, with 1,737 cases registered. The report describes a pattern within criminalization cases that begins with defamation on social media and ends with the mounting of spurious charges that often lead to imprisonment or exile. According to the report,  justice sector workers, transitional justice advocates, journalists, and environmental defenders were the most heavily targeted sectors. Defenders also suffered harassment, intimidation, physical attacks, and, in extreme cases,  murder. 

On March 20, the US State Department released its own report on the human rights situation in Guatemala that reflected similar patterns of abuse described by UDEFEGUA. The State Department illustrated key issues, like arbitrary detention, severe problems with the judiciary, violent attacks against Indigenous communities, the persecution of journalists and judicial sector workers, and widespread impunity. It cited the cases of Carlos Choc, José Rubén Zamorra, and Virginia Laparra as examples of these state-sponsored violations of human rights. Other cases mentioned included violence against Indigenous communities, where the report mentioned the attack on Q’eqchi human rights defenders and spiritual leader Adela Choc Cruz. Last May, armed assailants held Cruz hostage and threatened to burn her alive. In a meeting with GHRC’s emergency human rights delegation, Cruz explained that the attack was likely linked to her involvement in the anti-mining movement in El Estor.

UDEFEGUA makes the case that these attacks aim for the complete takeover of the State and the consolidation of a dictatorial regime. The Giammattei administration, according to UDEFEGUA, has launched a successful takeover of all governmental institutions, stacking them with pro-impunity allies. For Brenda Guillén, of UDEFEGUA, this State co-option is driving the human rights crisis. “The conditions of the country have generated an increase in violence against human rights defenders,” she stated. UDEFEGUA called upon the international community to support Guatemalan civil society, asking for stronger sanctions against the corrupt actors in both the State and private sector driving this crisis. 

Further Attacks on Judicial Sector Workers Draw International Condemnation   

On Thursday, March 16, at six in the morning, police and Public Ministry officials arrived at the home of former prosecutor Orlando Salvador López, raided his residence, and arrested him. López is accused of “abuse of authority” for allegedly taking on work as a notary public and lawyer in 2019 while still employed as a prosecutor. Five days later, on March 21, López appeared before the Fifth Pluripersonal Court of First Criminal Instance, Drug Activity, and Crimes against the Environment of Guatemala for his initial hearing. The judge ruled to send him to trial, placing him under house arrest. 

López formerly served as head of the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office, where he helped build the prosecution for critical transitional justice cases like the Ixil Genocide and the Creompaz case. His work throughout the years has made him a target of pro-military factions within Guatemala, most notably the Foundation Against Terrorism (FCT), which incidentally is a plaintiff in this case. Following López’s arrest, head of the FCT Ricardo Méndez Ruiz celebrated on Twitter, accusing Lopez of “the illegal capture of our war veterans.” FCT, working hand in hand with the Public Ministry’s Office, has led the charge to punish honest judges and prosecutors, nearly 30 of whom have been forced into exile. 

Human rights groups denounced his arrest, interpreting it as yet another politically motivated attack. According to Deputy Director for the Americas at Human Rights Watch Juan Papier, this case exemplifies “a pattern of persecution against prosecutors and judges who investigated corruption and human rights violations in Guatemala.” The Observatory, the Unit for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (UDEFEGUA), and the Center for Human Rights Legal Action (CALDH) echoed concerns, calling his criminalization “an act of retaliation for the essential work he carried out as head of the Human Rights Prosecutor’s Office to put an end to impunity for the serious human rights violations committed in the framework of the Internal Armed Conflict.”

Days later, the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) announced its plans to take legal action against former Commissioner of the International Commission Against Impunity (CICIG) Francisco Dall’Anese. From 2010-2013, Francisco Dall’Anese led the CICIG from 2010-2013, overseeing investigations into high-level corruption. He was succeeded by Iván Velásquez, who also faces investigations from the FECI. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned the move, stating, “It is particularly concerning that administrative and criminal proceedings are being used in apparent reprisal against those involved in investigating and prosecuting cases of corruption or serious human rights violations.” 

In a statement, he shared his concerns over the deterioration of rule of law and democracy in Guatemala, citing clear patterns of criminalization against judicial sector workers and potential candidates. In reference to the refusal to register candidates Thelma Cabrera and Jordan Rodas for the People’s Liberation Movement (MLP), he said, “The right to participate in public affairs, including the right to vote and to stand for election, is an internationally recognized human right.” He called upon the State of Guatemala to allow judges and prosecutors to work freely without fear of reprisal and ensure free and fair elections.

Judge Allows Convicted Former Vice President Qualified to Receive Medical Treatments from her Home

Eva Recinos–judge of High-Risk Court B–granted former Guatemalan vice president Roxana Baldetti partial house arrest on March 13. To receive treatment for alleged back pains, Recinos ruled to permit Baldetti to leave Santa Teresita Detention Center four times a week. Baldetti was convicted last December, along with former president Otto Perez Molina, for fraud and conspiracy charges; the court sentenced her to 16 years. Despite efforts from the prosecution to have these treatments conducted inside the detention center, Baldetti will be allowed to return home. Judge Recinos did not establish concrete conditions nor time limitations for Baldetti’s therapies.

Meanwhile, the former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) in Quetzaltenango, Virginia Laparra, continues to suffer in prison, where authorities regularly deny her access to prompt medical attention. Laparra developed a uterine disease after spending the last year imprisoned and urgently needs surgery. Despite requests from her legal team starting in December, prison authorities have denied her permission to leave the prison to receive treatment. Instead, surgery is planned for sometime in May, but an exact date has not been set.

Bicameral Resolution Commends Environmental Defenders, Calls for Stronger Protections
On March 29, Senator Jeff Merkley and Representative Raúl Grijalva introduced a bicameral resolution to support environmental defenders worldwide. The resolution acknowledges defenders’ critical role in protecting the environment, combating climate change, and supporting democracy. In the context of rising violence against defenders, it calls upon the US to stand with those most at risk and serve as a leader in implementing robust protection strategies. “We must support environmental defenders worldwide who are exercising their fundamental rights of free expression and association to demand a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. They are risking everything to protect the environment and their human rights, and we should be doing all we can to support and protect those efforts,” stated Senator Merkley. 

Recognizing Latin America as the most dangerous region for human rights defenders, with 1,179 defenders killed since 2012, the resolution includes examples of emblematic cases in the region. Notably, it mentions defenders from Q’eqchi communities in El Estor, which face “defamation, violent evictions, harassment, and assault by the Guatemalan National Civil Police Force for peacefully protesting the operations of the Fenix mine and growth of palm plantations on their territory.” 

The resolution lays out suggestions for the US government to better support defenders, such as creating positions within the State Department and USAID dedicated to protecting defenders, requesting more robust transparency and accountability from both USAID and the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to ensure that projects do not harm Indigenous communities and environmental defenders, and using the United States’ voice and influence in international financial institutions to ensure that funds are not given to any entities that have perpetrated violence against the environment and its defenders. The resolution is also supported by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).

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Ríos’ father, General Efraín Ríos Montt, came to power in a coup d’état on March 23, 1982. His de facto government served as one of the bloodiest periods of the internal armed conflict, marked by widespread massacres of mostly Indigenous communities. In 2013, Ríos Montt was convicted of genocide against the Ixil people. The verdict, however, was reversed on a technicality just days later by the Constitutional Court (CC). According to representative of the Platform Feliciana Marcario, allowing Ríos to run for the position of head of state “is an action that goes against the dignity of the surviving families of the Internal Armed Conflict.” 

Criminalized Prosecutor Denied Medical Care in Prison 

On February 23, 2022, Guatemalan authorities arrested former head of the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI) in Quetzaltenango, Virginia Laparra. Accused of “abuse of authority,” Laparra was ordered by judges to remain in detention while awaiting her trial. International groups denounced the explicit criminalization of Laparra, demanding her release. UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, urged authorities to free Laparra, stating, “I’m especially concerned about the irregularities in Ms. Laparra’s case and her continued detention in conditions that may put her health and safety at risk.” Laparra was convicted last December and sentenced to four years in prison. 

In the last year, Laparra has been held in conditions of “psychological torture,” according to Amnesty International, which is “incompatible with human dignity.” She urgently needs surgery, but prison authorities are refusing her access to the care she needs any sooner than May. Director for the Americas at Amnesty International, Erika Guevara Rosas, stated, “Virginia Laparra must be released immediately and unconditionally; one more day in prison puts her health and rights at serious risk.” 

Protesters Block Highways Across Guatemala, Demand Electoral Transparency

In the early morning of February 16, protesters gathered across Guatemala. Following the ruling from the Supreme Court (CSJ) not to accept the appeal from progressive candidates from the People’s Liberation Movement (MLP), supporters organized a national strike, calling the decision an “electoral coup” and demanding the registration of the candidates.  

Two weeks earlier, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) rejected the registration of the MLP ticket of longtime Indigenous activist Thelma Cabrera and former Human Rights Ombudsman Jordán Rodas. Cabrera and Rodas challenged the decision by filing an appeal to the CSJ, which was denied. According to Rodas,”The national legal battle to demand the exercise of our civic and political rights as a binomial continues.” The duo plans to bring the case to the Constitutional Court (CC). Cabrera and Rodas also recently visited Washington, DC, to share their concerns about electoral fraud with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. 

Meanwhile, protesters blocked highways and bridges in Guatemala throughout twelve different departments. Carrying signs, a large group of protesters gathered outside the TSE building, demanding transparency in the upcoming elections. Indigenous human rights defender and former prisoner of conscience Bernardo Caal stated, “Preventing the registration of Thelma Cabrera as a presidential candidate is an act of racism.” The strike continued throughout the week.

Security Forces Open Fire on Campesinos in the Petén, Killing One 

On February 14, police opened fire on community members in La Revancha, Sierra de Lacandón, Petén. Witnesses report that while a group of campesinos tended to their crops, agents from the Nature Protection Division (DIPRONA) and the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) arrived, accompanied by members of the military and National Civil Police (PNC). The agents fired at the group, leaving four community members seriously injured. They were rushed to the hospital in El Paraíso for emergency medical attention, where thirty-eight-year-old Sergio López Osorio lost his life after succumbing to his wounds. 

In a statement, the communities of Laguna del Tigre and Sierra de Lacandón denounced the attack and the “clear policy of persecution and extermination against this population.” The People’s Liberation Movement (MLP) echoed their sentiments, stating, “These practices are reminiscent of the years of the armed conflict.” The communities called upon the state to investigate the attack and reopen dialogue with communities impacted by the “Protected Areas Law.”  

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You can read the full report here.

The post Verification on the Status of Mining Activities in El Estor – The Report is Out! first appeared on Guatemala Human Rights Commission/ USA.

In this phase, the US government will enact a series of new commitments to encourage more private sector engagement. Harris announced a new wave of private sector commitments of $950 million, raising the total investment under the Call to Action to over $4.2 billion. New commitments include Columbia Sportswear, Target, and other companies looking to purchase more textiles from Central American clothing factories, also known as “maquilas.” These clothing factories are infamous for decades’ long abuse of workers and criminal disregard for local environments. It will also include more access to funding for private companies from the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC).  

Even as the White House insists that “Central America Forward is a framework that goes beyond addressing the economic drivers of migration,” civil society organizations are deeply concerned at the plan’s failure to address the region’s persistent and alarming abuse of  human rights, failure of the rule of law, and deeply entrenched corruption. “Addressing the root causes of forced migration from Central America must focus on urging governments of the region to serve their people-without corruption and with full respect for human rights and the rule of law,” said Director of the Latin America Working Group (LAWG) Lisa Haguard. She continued, “Investment pledges mean little or can be counterproductive if US policy fails to fully address the corruption and human rights violations faced by the rural and urban poor, Indigenous and Afrodescendant communities, women and lgbtq people, and human rights defenders in Central America.” 

Last March, GHRC, LAWG, and 17 other organizations sent a letter to the DFC urging it to reassess its investment plans in Guatemala in light of rampant corruption and the breakdown of protections for human rights defenders and Indigenous communities. It stated, “A sound investment climate requires stability and strong institutions, as well as consistent adherence to rule of law.” Since then, conditions in Guatemala have only worsened. For 2022, Guatemala earned a historically low rating from Transparency International on its Corruption Perception Index–a rate unseen since 1996. Meanwhile, violent evictions in rural and Indigenous communities continue to rise.  

Judge Grants House Arrest to Officers Accused of Crimes Against Humanity 

On February 1, Judge Rudy Eleazar Bautista, granted house arrest to two ex-soldiers on trial for crimes related to the Death Squad Dossier Case. Salán Sánchez and Pérez Lorenzo face charges of forced disappearance, murder, attempted murder, and crimes against humanity. With this ruling, the two will no longer have to await their trials from prison.  

Family members of the victims of the Death Squad Dossier Case, called the ruling a devastating blow to transitional justice in Guatemala. In a statement, they said, “This resolution adds to the long list of benefits that functionaries of impunity and corruption in Guatemala grant to perpetrators of serious crimes of corruption and crimes against humanity.” Since the discovery of the Dossier–a compilation of Guatemalan intelligence files discovered in 1999 detailing the torture and murder of over 183 “political dissidents” by security forces between 1982 and 1982–these families have worked tirelessly for justice for their loved ones. With the release of the defendants, the victims fear their own safety as they try to push the case forward. “We consider that it is an injustice,” said lawyer Santiago Choc. He continued, “This is a circumstance that offends the dignity of the victims, because they are failing to protect them.” 

Swiss Delegation Confirms Mining Operations in El Estor Are Continuing

From January 25-28, our Guatemala Team led a delegation of visitors from Switzerland to investigate conditions in El Estor related to an illegal nickel mine which threatens local Indigenous communities. Currently owned by Swiss-Russian conglomerate Solway, the Fenix mine is an open pit nickel mine managed by Guatemalan subsidiaries MayaNiquel, Pronico, and the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). Since its creation in El Estor, ownership of the mine has passed between multiple international companies who have left  a trail of human rights abuses. Former Canadian owner Hudbay Minerals, for example, is currently facing an international lawsuit regarding sexual assault of 11 Q’eqchi women by company security. In October of 2021, Guatemalan security forces–acting at the direction of company management–violently attacked Q’eqchi protesters which was later condemned by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as “excessive use of force.”

In another instance, on November 18, the US Department of Treasury sanctioned Russian national Dmitry Kudryakov, Belarusian national Iryna Litviniuk and three others for their role in exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector under the Global Magnitsky Act. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson stated,“We will use our tools to help ensure that corrupt profiteers face consequences for stealing from the Guatemalan people.” Solway leadership immediately denied its connection to both businesspeople and announced that operations would be suspended until further notice. Community members however, report that they can hear trucks transporting mining materials at night. The mining operations are continuing. 

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MLP party leadership filed an appeal to annul the resolution on January 30, rejecting the decision to block its presidential nomination. The legal team was joined by a crowd carrying signs and who chanted in protest of the decision as the team delivered the appeal to the TSE headquarters. Rodas responded on  twitter, stating, “Democracy in Guatemala has taken another step backwards; they fear the people and their sovereign decisions.” “With that decision that they made, they are demonstrating electoral fraud. The decision  is not against him [Rodas] but against the participation of the people,” Cabrera said.

Meanwhile, presidential tickets from ten other parties were authorized, including the nomination of Zury Ríos for the VALOR-Unionista party. Ríos is the daughter of former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, who ruled from 1982 to 1983 and was convicted of genocide in 2013. 

Judges Rules to Close Case Against Criminalizing Chicoyoguito Defenders

The trial against the Chicoyogüito defenders began on January 24 at the Second Sentencing Court of Cobán, Alta Verapaz. Criminalized for defending their ancestral territory, 21 Indigenous Q’eqchi community members faced charges of “usurpation related to a demonstration” in which they demanded the restitution of land that was stolen from their community in the 1960s to create a military encampment. Judge Walter Chen, after listening to the arguments from both parties, ruled to close the case in favor of the defenders with the requirement that they adhere to 

the “Opportunity Criterion” presented by the Public Ministry (MP).

“Opportunity Criterion”–as defined in Guatemalan Law–is a power held by the MP that allows it to refrain from initiating new criminal procedures or to close ongoing proceedings. In it, the parties agree that in order not to go to trial or prison, the accused persons must carry out some form of restitution to society for their alleged crimes. As recommended by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Food, the 21 defenders must carry out four days of community service and release a public communication.  

One Year Post-Victory, Achi Women Press State to Carry Out Reparations 

On the one-year anniversary of their victory over their abusers, survivors from the Mujeres Achí, or “Achi Women,” case demanded compliance with the last year’s sentence. On January 24, 2022, High Risk Court “A” ruled in favor of the Achi Women, sentencing the five former Civil Defense Patrolers (PAC) to 30 years in prison for crimes against humanity in the form of sexual violence. The sentence–delivered by Judge Yasmin Barrios–also included a list of reparation measures to benefit the survivors, their communities, and Guatemala more broadly. Represented by the Rabinal Legal Clinic (ABJPR), the women filed a request to resolve pending appeals and carry out the reparation measures.

Organized into the four categories of economic compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantee of non-repetition, the reparations include provisions to not only assist the direct victims, but future generations. In addition to compensation, the reparations measures call for the installation of health centers in the communities of the survivors, training programs on human rights and violence and women, and training for state security forces. According to survivor and leader Maxima Valey, however, the reparations “have not been realized in our communities.” In March, the Attorney General’s Office denied responsibility for carrying  them out, claiming that many of the measures are already addressed in the 1996 Peace Accords. The women rejected its decision, urging that “the public institutions that were identified as responsible for fulfilling the reparation measures assume an active role and initiate the necessary actions to implement each measure.” 

Last September, the women shared their demands with policymakers and government officials in Washington, DC. After accepting one of the Washington Office on Latin America’s (WOLA) 2022 Human Rights Awards, Valey exposed the lack of compliance by the Guatemalan government in a series of meetings arranged by GHRC. She told our team that while she feels an immeasurable pride in having won the case, “That was just the beginning.” She continued, “We will keep fighting until the last reparation is carried out.”  

Will you join us? 

GHRC remains committed to supporting human rights in Guatemala, working tirelessly to advocate for and support those on the front lines of the struggle. With elections in Guatemala looming amidst a constant deterioration of human rights conditions, we want to be as prepared as possible to respond to threats and attacks made against human rights defenders. We need your help! 

Donate today to sustain our work. We rely on your support to allow us to continue raising these issues with policymakers in the US and provide life-saving resources to defenders in Guatemala. Please consider becoming a monthly donor and join us at GHRC as we stand with the Guatemala people as they defend their rights.

The post Supreme Electoral Tribunal Blocks Registration of Progressive Presidential Ticket first appeared on Guatemala Human Rights Commission/ USA.

Four days later, on December 10, GHRC’s Guatemala team mobilized a verification mission to Chapín Abajo to gather testimonies from witnesses and document human rights abuses. This delegation consisted of six people: two from GHRC, two from Coban, and two from surrounding communities in El Estor. The community of Chapín Abajo asked us to share their stories and denounce the violence perpetrated against them. Below is our report back on what we found using this link.

The post Read our Report back from Verification Mission to Chapin Abajo first appeared on Guatemala Human Rights Commission/ USA.

In the midst of authoritarian backsliding across Latin America, a conference shone a ray of hope, connecting hundreds of human rights advocates to develop a regional strategy to common challenges. From November 29-30, the Inaugural RegionaR Conference took place in Bogota, Colombia where human rights representatives from across the region, shared their experiences and strategies for defending human rights. This “invitation only” event brought together many human rights workers, including: Indigenous land defenders, LGBT+ organizations, feminist activists, Afro-Latino movement leaders, disability rights advocates, and more. GHRC Advocacy Director Corie Welch was also in attendance. 

The RegionaR 2022 Regional Conference on Human Rights served as the inaugural event of the RegionaR Regional Forum on Human Rights Initiatives. The conference united representatives from civil society organizations all dedicated to the defense of human rights in Latin America with the purpose of providing space to analyze the common factors that threaten human rights, rule of law, and democracy in the region. For two packed days, over 150 human rights advocates participated in a series of lectures, panels, dialogue, and plenary sessions with the purpose of learning from each others’ experiences and developing regional strategies to combat threats against human rights more broadly. 

Prior to the conference, participants were asked to submit questionnaires, which were compiled into the context analysis. Drawing from their responses, the major challenges facing the region were identified as: pillars of inequality–corporate capture of the State; weakening of the rule of law; aggravation of risks and negative impacts for the rural population and indigenous peoples; closure of civic space and political violence; gender based violence; and more. (Read the full list and analysis here.) Culminating in a call to action, the participants released a statement, inviting, “civil society to join efforts in the defense of human, collective and natural rights and fundamental freedoms from an intersectional, inclusive, full, effective and multicultural perspective.” It also called on governments, corporations, and international financing mechanisms to respect human rights and the environment. 

Reflecting on her experience, Advocacy Director Corie Welch shared that she came away from the conference feeling uplifted and hopeful for the future of human rights work. “It’s been a tough year to work on human rights in Guatemala, but learning about the commonalities between the struggles of other countries and communities was energizing.” She continued, “Being able to hear the experiences from other defenders and share space with them was helpful in thinking about GHRC’s advocacy strategy. I felt inspired knowing that even in the face of major challenges across the region, we are united in the fight to protect human rights.” In the face of a regional trend backwards in human rights, the coalition was formed, “convinced that there are opportunities to build a new reality.”

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