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. 

Urgent action to support La Puya communities opposing US-owned gold mine

Take action: Stand in solidarity with La Puya

On Friday, May 23, the communities in resistance of La Puya were violently evicted from their blockade at the entrance to El Tambor gold mine. This attack comes after more than two years of peaceful resistance to the project, and repeated calls for dialogue. Hundreds of police used tear gas and flash bombs to remove the women who formed the front lines of the resistance. Over twenty people were injured. 

Police accompany machinery sent by Kappes, Cassiday and Associates to enter the mine site.
Photo: James Rodríguez, mimundo.org

The communities of San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc that form the resistance at La Puya explain: 

"The purpose of the operation, directed by the Ministry of the Interior, was to forcibly introduce machinery through the mine entrance, where the communities in resistance installed their blockade on March 2, 2012… 

The police forces included women who were there to confront the brave women of the resistance who had positioned themselves on their knees at the entrance, singing the national anthem and religious songs. The police, gloating in their brutality, lashed out against the women, shooting tear gas bombs at protesters' bodies, causing grave wounds to women, children and the elderly. [These actions] even affected the female police who were on the front lines without protection. 

Given this situation, which was planned by [the Minister of the Interior] Mauricio López Bonilla and the Director of the National Civil Police Telémaco Pérez, the communities resisted and defended themselves from police aggression for more than an hour and a half. Personnel from the High Commissioners Office on Human Rights, the [Guatemalan] Human Rights Ombudsman’s office, as well as human rights observers from international and national institutions bore witness to the police action." 

Women of the La Puya peaceful resistance. Photo: James Rodríguez, mimundo.org

Despite this violent repression, the brave men and women of La Puya continue to resist, and call on the international community "to take urgent measures in defense of the rights of the people of San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc."

Join NISGUA, GHRC and MiningWatch Canada in solidarity with La Puya: Call on KCA and Radius Gold, the principal companies invested in the project, to halt all mining activities until the dialogue process has concluded between the Guatemalan government and the communities of La Puya, and to cease any pressure on Guatemalan authorities to use violent force against the protesters. 

Please consider adding your organizational signature to the letter and circulate it widely for individual sign ons via our online action page.

Dear Kappes Cassiday & Associates and Radius Gold, 

I write to you, the principal companies invested in the El Tambor mine project just north of Guatemala City, to vociferously denounce the violent repression on Friday May 23rd that Guatemalan security forces used on your behalf against men, women and children who have been peacefully defending their water, health and community wellbeing since March 2nd 2012. Considering the ongoing dialogue process between the Guatemalan government and the community, we urge you to halt all mining activities and to desist from any efforts to pressure Guatemalan authorities to use aggression and violent force against Guatemalan citizens.

On Friday, hundreds of police were deployed to the encampment known as La Puya; they used tear gas and flash bombs against an unarmed and peaceful group of protesters. Some were caught on video throwing rocks on the group from a nearby hill. Over twenty people were injured, two seriously; seven were taken to the hospital in Guatemala City. 

People at La Puya have demonstrated ongoing willingness to dialogue to find a non-violent solution to community concerns regarding the future of your project. In fact, for almost one year, representatives of the movement have been participating in a high-level dialogue with their government. They have requested that this dialogue be solely with their government – and not with KCA or Radius - because the issues on the table relate to the government’s obligations to respect the rights of its citizens. 

The dialogue stalled early last week when the government refused to allow the conversation to be recorded. During the standoff at La Puya on Friday, the Vice-Minister of the Interior insinuated that the government had agreed to accompany the mine equipment because the dialogue was effectively "broken." Community members at La Puya continue to reiterate that they want to complete the dialogue process, but with transparency. Encouraging the Guatemalan authorities and affected communities to find a peaceful solution to this conflict should be your top priority. 

The attack on Friday was not the first incident of violence against the people of La Puya. In June 2012, an unknown gunman shot and wounded Yolanda Oquelí while she was on her way home from the roadblock. In addition, security guards hired by EXMINGUA were convicted of intimidating journalists at the roadblock in December 2012.

Community concerns about the impact of the project on water and health are supported by an evaluation carried out by hydrogeology and geochemistry expert Robert Moran. He states in a May 22, 2014 review that your company’s Environmental Impact Assessment is the worst quality that he has seen out of hundreds he has reviewed in 42 years of experience. While the process has been slow, all parties were working toward an agreement to review the EIA to address the report's failure to consider water contamination due to high levels of arsenic already present in the soil. 

Although Radius Gold sold its shares in the local Guatemalan subsidiary Exploraciones Mineras de Guatemala S.A. (EXMINGUA) to KCA in August 2012, it retains an economic interest in the mine. The company's 2013 audited financial statements state that three quarters of the cost of the sale transaction will be paid to Radius once gold shipments commence from the property and that Radius also anticipates quarterly payments from KCA based on gold production. 

I call on Kappes, Cassiday & Associates of Nevada and Radius Gold of Vancouver halt all mining activities out of support for the dialogue process and to publicly call for an end to the use of violent force by Guatemalan security forces.

Sincerely,

[Your name or organization here]

cc: 

President Otto Pérez Molina

Guatemalan Ministry of the Interior

U.S. Embassy in Guatemala

Canadian Embassy in Guatemala

Organizations in defense of territory denounce violence against their communities

Late Sunday night, around 10:30PM, father and daughter activists involved in the resistance against Tahoe Resources' Escobal Mine, Edwin Alex Reynoso and Merilyn Topacio Reynoso, were attacked by unknown suspects. Alex and Topacio were on their way home from Matequescuintla after attending an activity there. Topacio was shot and killed; Alex was severely wounded and remains in intensive care. While details of the attack against Alex and Topacio remain unclear, the incident forms part of a larger pattern of recent violent acts and intimidation against those who defend their right to life and territory. 

Out of the ongoing repression and criminalization of peaceful communities, resistances across Guatemala have united to denounce the reality in which they live and demand respect for their human rights.

Communities in Resistance from San Juan Sacatepéquez, San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc, San Rafael Las Flores and Mataquescuintala, the Xinca Parliament, Communities of Monte Olivo, the Coordination and National Convergence Maya Waqib’Kej and the Indigenous, Peasant and Popular March express that:

The current government headed by President of the Republic Otto Pérez Molina has increased violence in order to comply with commitments made with the oligarchy and transnational companies. The acts of terror, repression and criminalization during his administration can only be compared to the military violence enacted during the counterinsurgency war against our people. Said repression is directed toward pacific social struggles that indigenous peoples and social organizations maintain in defense of territory.

This policy serves the diverse interests of transnational companies behind the mining extractive industry, hydroelectric dams and monoculture crops. This past year, community leaders, women, men, youth, small children, and social leaders have been subject to many human rights violations, including states of siege, provocations, intimidations, threats, legal persecutions, illegal detentions, abductions and even assassinations of community leaders.

In order to carry out this repression, the government has made available all state agencies to protect the interests of transnational companies, ignoring the first principle of its mandate which is to protect and guarantee life to the people of Guatemala, with the common good being its supreme goal.

Communities like Monte Olivo in Cobán, Alta Verapaz; Sierra de las Minas in El Estor, Izabal; San José del Golfo; San Pedro Ayampuc; San Rafael las Flores; Mataquescuintla; San Juan Sacatepéquez; San Miguel Ixtahuacán; Sipacapa, San Marcos; Santa Cruz Quiché; and Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango represent some of the communities that are persecuted and attacked.

The 12 communities of San Juan Sacatepéquez, since 2006, continue their strong struggle in defense of territory against the arrival of the cement company in their communities without their consent, as indicated by law. The company, [Cementos Progresos], threatens to construct a highway to connect the cement factory to the InterAmerican Highway….

The Xinca People have been subject to all human rights violations described above. In 2013, a state of siege was established in the department of Jalapa, affecting the indigenous communities of Santa María Xalapan and Mataquescuintla, and the municipalities of Casillas and San Rafael las Flores in the department of Santa Rosa. This type of measure, similar to those in Santa Cruz Barillas, Huehuetenango and San Juan Sacatepéquez, demonstrates diverse human rights violations to men, women and children….

San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc, last March 2, commemorated the second anniversary of the “La Puya” peaceful opposition, an example of resistance, struggle and love in search of the defense of water, life and territory.

Recently, the La Puya peaceful resistance was subject to new attacks and confrontations by the mining company, with intimidations and under the protective arm of the National Civil Police (PNC).  The community members, who have exercised their legitimate right to pacific social protest in defense of territory, continue to fear eviction by the PNC….

The community “Ninth of February” in the region of Monte Olivo in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, this past April 8, was witness to a new attack on community leaders by large-scale farmer Sandino Ponce and his armed security guard, who wounded five men, one boy and a pregnant woman….

The Campesino Unity Committee (CUC) has suffered a series of attacks that total 44 assassinations amongst members of its organization between 2000 and 2014. Since 2011, assassinations, threats, forced evictions, criminalization, detentions and imprisonment have increased. Smear campaigns, defamation and slander join these techniques that try to delegitimize 36 years of struggle….

Before this reality of repression in which each of the above-mentioned communities lives, we DEMAND:

That the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, the High Commissioner’s Human Rights Office, CICIG, including the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States, speak out and demand of the Guatemalan state that it fulfill its obligation to guarantee the right to life, physical integrity and other fundamental rights to the Guatemalan people, before this new repressive attack by clandestine groups and private security companies that generate abductions, death threats, assassinations, threats and intimidations against our communities.

That the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office monitor, accompany and protect the physical integrity and life of the families that find themselves threatened and persecuted, and also protect human rights defenders and those who defend Mother Earth.

That the government of Guatemala immediately withdraw National Army forces from the communities in resistance, we especially demand withdrawal from Santa Maria Xalapan and San Juan Sacatepéquez.

The closure of extractive industry companies and the termination of turning over national territory to the hands of transnational companies.

That international human rights organizations, indigenous organizations, peasant organizations, women’s organizations, unions and solidarity groups not be surprised by defamation campaigns and slander. These campaign principally aim to criminalize communities and organizations in order to delegitimize them and facilitate their criminal prosecution.

In these moments, in which we are once again living massacres, abductions, assassinations, states of prevention and states of siege, similar to wartime but with elements of criminalization and criminal prosecution, we demand launching a visibilization campaign of what happens in our country and more importantly, a campaign of permanent solidarity.

12 Communities in Resistance from San Juan Sacatepéquez

Communities in Resistance from San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc

Xinca Parliament

Indigenous, Peasant and Popular March

Coordination and National Convergence Maya Waqib’Kej

Stand in solidarity with the peaceful resistance at La Puya, which was threatened by heavy machinery and riot police last week and continues to fear eviction.