Take Action: Call on the U.S. Embassy to stand up for political prisoners Saúl and Rogelio

On September 1, Barillas land defenders Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez will stand trial again for accessory to murder. Citing serious irregularities and major errors in the initial trial earlier this year that condemned both men to 33 years and 4 months in prison, a Special Appeals court ruled on May 15 to annul the sentence and ordered the case be retried.

Both men have spoken out against the imposition of hydroelectric dams in their home in northern Huehuetenango and, like many other leaders, are now feelings the effects of a pattern of criminalization that has increased dramatically over the past few years. 

TAKE ACTION to help ensure Saúl and Rogelio get a fair trial!

Saúl Méndez and Rogelio Velásquez, during their Special
Appeal trial. Photo: Gustavo Illescas (CMI-Guatemala)

Currently, six other men from Huehuetenango are detained and awaiting trial for outlandish legal charges that include terrorism and kidnapping - all are active community leaders who have organized to demand respect for their right to consultation regarding the imposition of mega-development projects in their territory. Across the United States, members of the NISGUA base are writing letters of encouragement to all of the leaders from Huehuetenango currently imprisoned for standing up for life. Click here to send a message of solidarity to the political prisoners and let them know they are not alone.

For more information, read NISGUA's report on the movement for community referenda on mining and hydroelectric dams and the corresponding trend of criminalizing leaders standing up against unjust resource extraction. 

Both Saúl and Rogelio are accused of being accomplices in the assassination of Guadalupe Francisco and Mateo Diego Simón, killed by a mob of roughly 500 people in 2010. Despite serious holes in the prosecution's evidence - including shaky witness testimonies and an inability to place both men at the scene of the crime - a Huehuetenango court found both men guilty of being accomplices to murder in February 2015. Saúl and Rogelio were previously detained from May 2012 – January 2013, accused by Spanish company, Hidro Santa Cruz of causing disturbances associated with the assassination of community member Andrés Francisco Miguel, on May 1 2012. 

The retrial will open on September 1 and is expected to take a month and a half. If everything moves forward as scheduled, the sentencing hearing will take place on October 13, 2015. 

Family members of the accused are calling for an international presence at the retrial, including from the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, as one way to ensure that Saúl and Rogelio get a fair trial. TAKE ACTION! Call on the U.S. Embassy to recognize the intentional manipulation of the Guatemalan justice system by transnational corporations, and observe the retrial. All signatures will be collected before August 21 to be turned in to the Embassy prior to the start of the retrial on September 1. 

Petition to remove Pérez Molina's presidential immunity moves to Congress

On June 10th, Guatemala's Supreme Court unanimously voted to accept Congressman Amílcar Pop's petition to remove President Otto Pérez Molina's immunity. Pop is accusing President Molina of playing a role in the corruption scandals in the tax and health sectors, which were recently unveiled by the UN-backed International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) – revelations that have led to widespread protests throughout the country and calls for Molina's resignation. According to the constitution, the Supreme Court was then required to turn the file over to Congress, where five members were selected at random to form an investigative commission. The President is being accused of concealment and illicit association.

With one Congressman from CREO, one from Molina's own Partido Patriota, and three from LIDER - a party which allegedly spent the last three years making deals with the current government to stack the judiciary – the commission is now tasked with determining whether sufficient evidence exists to recommend stripping the president of his immunity. While this would not necessarily lead to an impeachment, it would allow for a full investigation and could possibly lead to the President's resignation. 

Congressman Amílcar Pop appears before the Commission.
Photo credit: Prensa Comunitaria  

The Commission's final recommendation will be voted on in Congress, with 105 of 158 votes needed to pass. Congress can also vote to invalidate the recommendation and send the process back to the commission for further consideration. There is no set time limit for making the recommendation. Although the Commission has so far moved quickly and is set to hear Pop's arguments today (Tuesday, June 16), analysts warn that the process could drag on. The President has assured the public that he has no intention of stepping down and welcomes the investigation. 

Protests in the country continue, criticizing the behind-the-scenes maneuvers by powerful economic and political actors to gain control of the crisis and thus the outcome. Chants and posters frequently seen and heard at the demonstrations denounce the intervention by the U.S. Embassy, and call for respect for autonomy as people push for real, systemic change.

A woman holds a sign that reads, "Gringos: Mind your own business."
Photo credit: Nelton Rivera, Prensa Comunitaria

On June 2nd, President Molina and U.S. Ambassador Todd Robinson announced that the U.S. would provide polygraph tests for workers at the national tax agency. This announcement, together with the stark visual of Ambassador Robinson at the presidential podium with President Molina, has been seen as a strong signal of support for the embattled President, and has become a focal point in denouncing U.S. intervention in the country.

Ambassador Robinson with President Pérez Molina in June 2015
Photo Credit: Nómada

In an interview with Nómada published on June 10th, Robinson re-stated multiple times that he is “not in charge in Guatemala.” He gave this statement in response to questions about the message the public event sent at a moment when “nobody wants to be photographed with President Otto Pérez.” Robinson emphasized that the U.S. remains committed to combating corruption in Guatemala, with the billion-dollar Alliance for Prosperity at the center of its foreign policy strategy. The Ambassador revealed that the U.S. had “one word” in the resignation of Vice-president Baldetti, but maintained that it was primarily the decision of the President and the Guatemalan government. He stated that the U.S. government “is looking forward to working with [President Pérez Molina] during the rest of his period.” 

While the Embassy remains committed to Molina, popular support throughout the country is waning. For the eighth time last Saturday, thousands of people gathered throughout the country and in Guatemala City's central square to demand Molina’s resignation. Protestors also gathered last week outside of Congress to demand a speedy response from the Commission as they deliberate their recommendation to remove or maintain immunity. 

Background:

The joint CICIG / Public Prosecutor investigation into two separate corruption rings have resulted in the resignation of Vice President Roxana Baldetti and six cabinet members. So far, 42 people, including President Molina's former personal secretary and the head of the National Bank, have been arrested. The Public Prosecutor's office has carried out searches in three of the properties owned by former Vice President Roxana Baldetti under suspicion of illegal enrichment due to involvement in the La Linea customs scandal.

2015 US Appropriations Act maintains restrictions on US military aid to Guatemala

When President Otto Peréz Molina was elected in 2012, he came with an agenda to fully re-instate US military aid and end the restrictions on funding to Guatemala in place to varying degrees since the Carter administration implemented a direct security aid ban in 1977.

Even before the Peace Accords were signed in 1996, the outright ban on military assistance to Guatemala had progressively weakened, with restrictions loosened for military training and other areas of military support. In 2005, the ban on US military sales to Guatemala was lifted. Yet despite these changes and much to Molina's chagrin, certain human rights conditions continue to prevent the unrestricted flow of military aid to Guatemala.

Peréz Molina is the first ex-military officer to take power in a civilian government since 1987, and an increase in military presence has been felt throughout the country. Despite his efforts, the US Appropriations Act released in November 2014 for the fiscal year ending September 2015 continues to maintain human rights conditions. The bill requires that the Guatemalan government show progress in the implementation of reparations for communities affected by the construction of the Chixoy dam. It also makes funding dependent on the government building an effective civilian police force separate from the military, and fully cooperating in trying former and current military suspected of committing gross violations of human rights.

On May 10th, 2013, ex-president Ríos Montt became the first former head of state in the world to be tried and convicted in a national court for crimes against humanity and genocide. The case took more than 12 years to go to trial, and included the testimonies of more than a hundred eyewitnesses and experts. However, just ten days later, the Constitutional Court made what many consider an illegal ruling, effectively annulling the verdict. Now, more than a year and a half later, the retrial remains stalled after the presiding judge for the new tribunal was recused at the last minute by Montt's defense. 

The US Embassy in Guatemala supported the genocide case during the first trial, bringing diplomatic attention by attending the public hearings and publishing press releases calling for an independent judicial system and speedy due process. Likewise, Embassy officials announced they were observing the second trial and were present for the opening hearing on January 5th. While Peréz Molina has loudly denounced the Embassy for its public stance on this high-profile case, its international presence has been important to survivors, witnesses and their legal teams.

But as the Guatemalan Center for Independent Media (CMI) points out, the reasons behind the Embassy's support for the case are complex and multi-faceted. When Montt was initially convicted, a strong case could have been made that the Guatemalan judiciary had successfully tried one of its highest-ranking former military with the support of the Guatemalan state, showing advancement on one of the main conditions of reinstating US military aid. However, since the Constitutional Court annulled the verdict and there is currently no clear timeframe or process for the resumption of the retrial, this same argument no longer applies. Although the appropriations bill makes no mention of specific crimes, it essentially ties the lifting of restrictions to the advancement of the biggest and most emblematic case currently before the judicial system - the Ixil genocide case.

US military restrictions only go so far

In 2008, the Bush administration modeled the highly controversial Plan Colombia to launch the Mérida Initiative - a plan that provides training, equipment and intelligence to Mexican and Central American security forces to address key security issues such as drug trafficking, gang violence and judicial reform. As part of the Mérida Initiative, the Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) was formed and was later expanded under the Obama administration. Since its inception, more than $800 million in funding has been given to Central America under Mérida/CARSI, and the Appropriations Act for FY2015 allocates an additional $130 million to the region for this year - $57 million earmarked for Guatemala alone.

Specifically, the funds are designated to increase border security between Mexico and Guatemala and expand economic and social development in the regions where most unaccompanied and undocumented minors travelling to the US originate and where significant gang activity occurs. The funds are also designated to support facilities that address the need for safe repatriation and reintegration of minors, combat human trafficking, and promote judicial and police reform with a particular focus on strengthening judicial independence and community policing.

There is no doubt that the US Embassy has played a role in helping to promote the progression of the genocide case through a variety of measures, and that the ongoing restrictions included in the Appropriations Act are an additional pressure point. It is also clear, however, from the Mérida/CARSI Initiative and other US sources of funding for military support in Guatemala, that the northern country's foreign policy in the region privileges a military solution to narcotrafficking and undocumented migration. What's more, a strong judicial system certainly bodes well for North American extractive companies in the region and other foreign investors looking for stability. The US' support for the very structures that have led to the problems they now want to eradicate is well documented. Contradictions in US foreign policy are certainly not new.

But while the advancement of the genocide case is essential, as long as the former-general-turned-president Peréz Molina stays in power, major concerns exist for what reinstating unrestricted US military aid to Guatemala could mean for communities, human rights defenders and civil society organizations already experiencing a heavy-handed response to their work against impunity and in defense of territory.

During the last two years alone, Molina has enacted two states of siege - a measure likened to marshal law - almost exclusively under the guise of combating narcotrafficking. Under the states of siege, communities found themselves with many of their constitutional rights suspended, dozens of leaders arrested without charge and a major increase in the presence of military checkpoints and patrols. All of the places where a state of siege has been implemented are host to large-scale resistance movements where communities are organized against the presence of transnational extractive projects.

It remains to be seen what will transpire over Peréz Molina's final year in office. Although the US currently provides training and support to the Guatemalan military, the restrictions in the Appropriations Act continue to give human rights organizations a glimmer of hope that the US will not resume its unrestricted support for military aid to Guatemala.

US groups call on new US Ambassador to Guatemala to promote justice

The following letter was originally sent on October 14, 2014

Ambassador Todd Robinson U.S. Embassy
Guatemala City, Guatemala

Dear Ambassador Robinson:

We write to congratulate you on your recent appointment as the United States ambassador to Guatemala, and we recognize your extensive experience and service in country as well as throughout the Western hemisphere. As U.S.-based human rights and policy organizations, we closely follow the human rights situation in Guatemala and the impacts of U.S. policy in the region.

We appreciate the steps the U.S. Embassy has taken in recent years to support justice and accountability in Guatemala and fervently believe that the protection of human rights must continue to be a top priority.

Unfortunately, over the last two years, the human rights situation has been deteriorating. As you are well aware, Guatemala currently suffers from increasing violence, organized criminal activity, intense conflict over land and natural resources, high rates of poverty and unemployment, and minimal social spending. When addressing these challenges, the Guatemalan government should implement policies that improve the common good; its institutions and public officials should act within the rule of law, and be held accountable when they do not. However, the Guatemalan government, through militarized policies and ineffective mechanisms for civil society dialogue, has exacerbated social conflict. Impunity rates for all crimes remains high –particularly in cases relating to human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, women, and LGBTQ individuals–and corruption within the government has not been effectively addressed.

NISGUA leads delegation with UUCA to Guatemala

 

UUCA delegates gather with NISGUA staff in Antigua.
All photos: David McTaggart

This past December, NISGUA organized and hosted a ten-day delegation with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA), home to NISGUA Sponsoring Community, Partners for Arlington and Guatemala (PAG). 
Twelve members of the UUCA congregation formed the delegation and traveled to Guatemala to see NISGUA's work up close and to hear directly from Guatemalan human rights defenders on the ground.

PAG combines strategic local action and advocacy in partnership with the Arlington immigrant community and supports and monitors human rights in Guatemala. PAG has supported over a dozen human rights accompaniers since becoming a NISGUA Sponsoring Community in 2006. In addition, PAG partners with the Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado to fundraise for the Guatemala Scholarship Program that benefits youth from families affected by the Maya Achí genocide.

The December delegation met with a total of 13 organizations, dozens of scholarship recipients as well as current NISGUA accompaniers.

One delegate reflected on her experience: "The biggest surprise of the trip was how much of a difference UUCA contributions have made both emotionally and politically…. We were brought to tears over and over as the people we met with greeted us with deep emotion."

 

UUCA delegates visited Guatemala City, Rabinal, San Rafael las Flores and Antigua.


After a short orientation in Guatemala City, the delegation started its journey of learning and exploration in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz. In coordination with the Association for the Holistic Development of the Victims of the Violence, Maya Achí (ADIVIMA) who runs the Guatemala Scholarship Program, delegates met with PAG's scholarship recipients. Students had the opportunity to publicly address the delegates and share how PAG's support has helped them in completing their studies. The ADIVIMA scholarship program commits to supporting recipients through the duration of their studies and a number of recently graduated students proudly shared their accomplishment with the delegates. The next day, delegates traveled to scholarship recipients’ homes to see the conditions and distance that students have to traverse in order to study.


Delegates were moved to tears by the show of gratitude from the students. As one delegate described: "Our group responded profoundly to the emotion showed by the students of ADIVIMA and their families, and to their hope, grit and determination."

UUCA delegates trek to scholarship recipient's homes in Rabinal.

Seeing student's homes gave delegates a better sense of the journey they make to school.


UUCA delegates had the special opportunity to meet with a NISGUA accompanier working in the Rabinal region alongside Maya Achí genocide survivors and members of the Association for Justice and Reconciliation (AJR). Upon returning to Guatemala City, UUCA delegates were able to directly connect with the AJR and hear about their recent victory in the historic genocide trial, as well as reflections on what drives and inspires their ongoing struggle for justice. UUCA is no stranger to the work of the AJR, in fact, they recently opened their church and homes to AJR President Anselmo Roldán Aguilar during NISGUA's fall tour. Providing another opportunity to deepen their relationship, the dinner with the AJR was a true highlight of the delegation.


We further connected UUCA to other areas of NISGUA's work with a visit to communities impacted by Tahoe Resources' Escobal silver mine in San Rafael las Flores.  Delegates met with the Committee in Defense of Life and Peace, made up of community members living closest to the mine site. Community members took delegates to see the project, highlighting the proximity of the mine to crops, water sources and homes. Delegates were further immersed in the issue, with a visit to Santa Rosa de Lima to share with the Catholic Church organization, CODIDENA, responsible for organizing and promoting the community consultation process of 2011 and the ongoing peaceful resistance to the Escobal mine. UUCA and CODIDENA strongly connected through their shared sense of faith and commitment to justice.

Delegates observed the Escobal mine, owned by Tahoe Resources, in San Rafael las Flores.


In addition to  information gathering and relationship building, UUCA delegates took strategic action, meeting with the US embassy and making plans to follow-up on their observations post-delegation. The embassy visit gave delegates the opportunity to express concern around human rights issues revealed throughout the trip - increased militarization, rising repression against communities defending territory and the denial of justice in the genocide case. The meeting laid the groundwork for further sessions, action planning and continued monitoring of the human rights situation upon returning to Arlington.

All twelve delegates made personal commitments to share their experiences in Guatemala with their congregation and community. In fact, UUCA devoted time during its January 5 service for delegates to talk about their trip to Guatemala and share what the thousands of other members of the church could not see. Delegates returned to the US with a truly renewed commitment and inspiration to continue their support for justice in Guatemala.

NISGUA plans to begin outreach for a 2015 delegation later this year and will continue to support groups visiting Guatemala.