Archives
Human rights, environment, land & justice struggles Rights Action has supported since 1995
GUATEMALA
60 years of mining in Q’eqchi’ territories
INCO / Skye Resources / Hudbay Minerals / Solway Investment Group
Canadian mining companies - INCO, Skye Resources, Hudbay Minerals - controlled a huge swath of Mayan Q’eqchi’ lands in Guatemala from the early 1960s to 2011, when Hudbay sold its interests to the Swiss-based Solway Investment Group.
Repeatedly, over decades, villagers have suffered violent evictions and destruction of homes; killings, rapes, shootings; criminalization of community defenders; health and environmental harms.
Here, victims of gang-rapes in 2007 committed by roving gangs of Skye Resources security guards, Guatemalan soldiers and police, as part of an illegal, violent eviction of their community. 11 women from Lote 8, plus two other victims of mining repression, are plaintiffs in the landmark Hudbay Minerals lawsuits in Canadian courts, aiming to hold Hudbay accountable for corporate neglience linked to the rape of women, assassination of Adolfo Ich and shooting-maiming of German Chub.
As part of this work, Rights Actions supports landmark lawsuits in Canada seeking justice for some of the repression linked to Hudbay Minerals and Skye Resources.
Chixoy Dam Reparations Campaign
Beginning in 1994, and continuing today in a number of ways, Rights Action has funded and been involved in work - led by Mayan Achi survivors of massacres and genocide - to hold the Guatemalan government, World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank accountable for the massacres and killings and violent evictions, dispossession, poverty and despair caused by the 1975-1985 Chixoy dam hydro-electric dam project.
Goldcorp Inc.
From 2004-2017, Rights Action funded and was involved in a community defense struggle - led by mining-harmed Mayan Mam and Mayan Sipakapan communities - to denounce and seek justice for repression, human rights violations, environmental and health harms caused by Goldcorp Inc.’s cyanide-leeching, open-pit gold mine. The World Bank was an early investor.
Pan American Silver / Tahoe Resources
Beginning in 2012, Tahoe Resources - corporate off-spring of Goldcorp Inc., bought out by Pan American Silver in 2019 - has been trying to operate a silver and gold mine in the Xinka territories and campesino communities of south-eastern Guatemala. As with all mining-resistance struggles in Guatemala and Honduras, land and rights defenders have suffered: government and company repression, including killings; criminalizations on trumped up charges; health and environmental harms; other human rights violations.
On April 13, 2014, community defenders Edwin Alexander Reynoso and his 16 year old daughter, Merilyn Topacio Reynoso Pacheco, were attacked. Merilyn Topacio was killed. Alex survived four bullet wounds to the chest and stomach, and remains in the community defense struggle today. No justice was ever done for this mining-linked killing and attack. (Photo: Los Angeles Times)
La Puya
Kappes Cassiday & Associates / Radius Gold
Beginning in 2012, first Radius Gold (Canadian), then KCA (Kappes Cassiday & Associates) have tried to operate a gold mine in the municipalities of San Jose del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc, outside Guatemala City. As with all mining-resistance struggles in Guatemala and Honduras, land and rights defenders have suffered: government and company repression, including killings; criminalizations on trumped up charges; health and environmental harms; other human rights violations.
San Jose del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc villagers courageously resist Guatemalan military and police violence carried out on behalf of the illegal mining operation of KCA (formerly Radius Gold)
Credit: unknown, let us know if you know!
Genocide Trial
US-backed General Efrain Rios Montt
On May 10, 2013, general Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity. A courageous, precedent setting achievement, all the moreso as repression, impunity and racism continue today in Guatemala.
To date, there have been no justice processes against US political or military officials for the direct role of the US in Guatemala’s genocides. In this archive, a small collection of articles and reports about this historic trial and verdict.
Truth-Memory-Justice
War crimes trials / Ending corruption & impunity
Similar to the genocide trial against US-backed General Efrain Rios Montt, criminal trials have been working their way through the Guatemala courts, seeking justice for other crimes against humanity, organized crime and corruption. In this archive, articles and reports about these ‘other war crimes’ trials, and about work to end systemic corruption and impunity.
Exhumation of Chixoy Dam massacre victims: The FAFG (Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemalan) exhumed numerous mass graves inside the Guatemalan Army’s CREOMPAZ military base, where the remains of over 500 kidnapped, disappeared, tortured and murdered Guatemalans (mainly Mayan) have been recovered since 2012. (Photo @ Grahame Russell, May 2012)
Here, the FAFG recovered the remains of dozens of villagers -mainly women and children- from the Mayan Achi community of Rio Negro / Los Encuentros. In 1982, they were forcibly kidnapped by the US-backed Guatemalan military, and brought here in helicopters. Their village -Rio Negro- was razed to the ground, and close to 450 villagers massacred, to make way for the Chixoy Hyrdroelectic Dam project of the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank.
There is an on-going war crimes trial against high ranking military officers who were in charge of the CREOMPAZ military base at the time.
Elections But (until 2023) No Democracy in Guatemala
In this archive, articles and reports critiquing the charade of electoral democracy that, until 2023, has kept in power military-backed, repressive and corrupt “open for global business” regimes that maintain full military, diplomatic and economic relations with the U.S.-led “international community” (Canada, World Bank, IMF, global banks, investors and companies).
“Fuera corruptos” (Out with the corrupt ones), November 21, 2020, Guatemala City central plaza
January 14, 2024 marks only the third time in the country’s history that an actually democratic government has taken power. It marks the beginning of a the country’s second Democratic Spring.
HONDURAS
OFRANEH
Garifuna land & rights defense organization
Since 1998, Rights Action has supported OFRANEH (Fraternal organization of Black peoples of Honduras) that - along with COPINH - is a leading Indigenous organization struggling in defense of land, the environment, indigenous rights and a fair and just “development” model.
Here, no one gives up. COPINH
COPINH
Lenca land & rights defense organization
Since 1998, Rights Action supported COPINH, the Civic Counsel of Popular and Indigenous Organizations in Honduras (Consejo Civico de Organizaciones Populares e Indigenas de Honduras). Co-founded by Berta Caceres in 1992, COPINH is, along with OFRANEH, a leading organization struggling in defense of land, Indigenous and human rights, and the environment; leading the struggle against imperialism and the neo-liberal economic order, in favor of a community-centered, fair and just “development” model.
Berta Cáceres
Late on March 2, 2016, a team of assassins killed Berta Cáceres (co-founder of COPINH) in her home in La Esperanza, Honduras. They shot and left for dead her guest and long-time friend Gustavo Castro, a Mexican land, rights and environmental defender, who miraculously survived.
Information in this archive address courageous efforts led by COPINH, family members of Berta and supporters to expose the truth about who planned and paid for Berta to be assassinated, and achieve justice against the material and particularly the intellectual and financial authors of her death.
Aura Minerals
Rights Action has been supporting the Azacualpa community defense struggle since 2014, when the U.S.-mining company Aura Minerals (formerly Canadian) started to illegally exhume bodies from the 200 year-old Azacualpa Cemetery, to get at the gold underneath, … and from there to mine up the mountain ridge through the actual community of Azacualpa.
Goldcorp Inc.
From 2000-2008, and continuing today with respect to chronic, inter-generational health harms, Rights Action funded and was involved in a community defense struggle - led by mining-harmed campesino communities - to denounce and seek justice for repression, human rights violations, environmental and health harms caused by Goldcorp Inc.’s cyanide-leeching, open-pit gold mine.
Aguán Region
Honduras’ African palm “death valley”
African palm production in Honduras’ “death valley”. Over the course of 13 years after the 2009 US and Canadian-backed military coup, killings, forced evictions and repression spiked even higher in the Aguan Region, as the World Bank and global food industry conglomerates increased investments and business relations with Honduras’ land barons to increase production of African palm for global food industries and “green energy” markets.
Karen Spring, December 2012, exhumation of remains of Bajo Aguan land defender Gregorio Chavez
Narco-Dictatorship, 2009-2022
13 years resistance to repressive, ‘open-for-global-business’, U.S. & Canadian-backed regime
For close to 13 years, the Narco-Dictatorship in Honduras - headed by president Juan Orlando Hernandez of the National Party (now in jail in New York, awaiting trial on charges of drug-trafficking and organized crime) - was considered a "democratic allie" and fully supported by Republican and Democratic administrations in the U.S. and Conservative and Liberal governments in Canada.
REGIONAL THEMATIC ISSUES
“Lawfare”"
Political prisoners / ‘criminalizations’
During and before the 13 years of the recently ousted U.S. and Canadian-backed narco-regime in Honduras, and on-going in Guatemala going back to 1954, the governments and economic elites in both countries have ‘weaponized’ the legal systems as one more tool of persecution. Regularly, fraudulent, malicious criminal charges are filed against land/ human rights/ environmental defenders, and judges, lawyer and prosecutors, as a way of stopping their courageous, legal work in the judicial system and/or land and community defense struggles.
See also Archives Truth-Memory-Justice / Narco-Dictatorship
Maria Choc
Criminalized indigenous/ land/ environment/ women’s rights defender in Guatemala
Since 2018, Maria has been forced to respond to malicious criminal charges filed against her for courageous work in defense of indigenous rights, culture and lands.
Edwin & Raul
Political prisoners in Honduras
January 18, 2018: Capture of Edwin, democracy and human rights defender, on malicious criminal charges after weeks of massive protests against Honduran "elections" violently and fraudulently stolen by the U.S. and Canadian-backed regime headed by drug-trafficking President Juan Orlando Hernandez.
After a 4 year activist campaign, malicious, politically motivated criminal charges against Edwin Espinal and Raul Alvarez were dropped. Hundreds of Hondurans face trumped up charges - many jailed as political prisoners, for protesting the violently, fraudulently stolen 2017 elections - electoral theft endorsed by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
Forced Migrancy
Articles in this archive address predictable and systemic forced migrancy and refugee flight from Guatemala and Honduras. Note the contrasts between mainstream media reporting (U.S. / Canada) that generally refuses to address underlying causes, and other reporting analyzing how historic and on-going policies and actions of the U.S. and Canada – as well as other actors in the so-called ‘international community’ - contribute directly to the underlying causes of forced migrancy and refugee flight.
(NB - See Media Misreporting archives for articles about the role of media when reporting on forced migrancy and refugee flight issues, amongst other issues.)
“If the US invades our countries, and imposes on us corrupt, murderous dictators, we will migrate to your country and stop complaining.” CInPH (Indigenous Coordinator of Popular Power in Honduras)
Narco States & Organized Crime
The infiltration of drug traffickers and organized crime into all branches of the governments, judiciaries, police and militaries of Guatemala and Honduras are not the underlying cause of systematic violence, corruption and impunity in these countries.
However, they both take advantage of and directly worsen the underlying cause of systematic violence, corruption and impunity in these countries.The infiltration of drug traffickers and organized crime into the States and governments are symptoms of the fact that Guatemala and Honduras (until very recently) are dominated by anti-democratic, military-backed, corrupt, ‘open-for-global-business’ regimes.
Find, in this archive, informations documenting how deeply corrupted the U.S. and Canadian-backed regimes are.
Olivia Zuniga Caceres, daughter of Berta Caceres (assassinated by the Honduran regime, March 3, 2016), and Member of Congress, holding photo of U.S. and Canadian-backed President Juan Orlando Hernandez: “Drug-traffickers should be in jail, not in the Presidential Palace.”
Media Misreporting
The land and environmental defense struggles, and human rights and justice struggles that Rights Action supports in Guatemala and Honduras confront the interests, power and wealth of other governments (mainly the U.S. and Canada) and a host of international companies, banks and investors.
These struggles also confront the role of the mainstream media in the U.S. and Canada, and how these issues are reported on, if ever, or outright ignored.
In this archive, find articles / reports assessing critically the role of the mainstream media when addressing a wide range of issues that overlap with Rights Action’s work, including the issues of forced migrancy and refugee flight.
