Help the “La Puya” communities defend land and water sources from dirty gold mining project of U.S. company KCA.
Below: Call for organizational and individual sign-ons
Rights Action delegation visit with Alvaro Sandoval, La Puya land defender, in November 2022. Alvaro is featured in “TESTIMONIO: Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala”
Call for organizational and individual sign-ons
Guatemalan communities of the Peaceful Resistance La Puya have successfully defended their home from a dirty gold mine for the last 10 years.
Now Guatemalan authorities are trying to cut them out of decision-making that will determine the future of the project.
The mine was suspended in 2016 because U.S. company Kappes, Cassiday & Associates and the government failed to consult with communities before the mine went into operation. Now, a court-ordered consultation process is set to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Land and water defenders exercising their right to participate in the consultation face a new wave of threats and intimidation tactics that have characterized this project from the start, including a pending $400 million claim that the Nevada-based company brought against Guatemala under its free trade agreement with the U.S.
Urge the Guatemalan government to conduct a consultation process that respects community self-determination and ensures their full, free and safe participation.
Organizational sign-on: https://forms.gle/P7f5UYT49Xr1MZUWA
Individual sign-on: https://earthworks.salsalabs.org/lapuya/index.html
More information
Jen Moore: Jenmoore0901@gmail.com
Earthworks: action@earthworks.org, www.earthworks.org
Rights Action
has supported the “La Puya” land and water defenders struggle since 2012, first against Canadian company Radius Gold, then U.S. company KCA.
The La Puya struggle is documented in “TESTIMONIO-Canadian Mining in the Aftermath of Genocides in Guatemala”
In November 2022, we visited with La Puya land and water defenders, along with three other community defense struggles against the harms and violence of global mining companies: https://rightsaction.org/articles/community-defense-struggles-in-resistance-to-mining-in-guatemala
La Puya Archives: https://rightsaction.org/la-puya-archives
