Please join us for an evening of discussion and reflection on Cooperative Culture!
The world we live in greatly favors domination culture. We see this culture in our work places, in our government, in our schools, and even in some of our houses of worship. We are constantly presented with organizational structures that divide, and alienate us. Ways of living and working that focus on control, authority, and management.
Mega-projects like hydroelectric dams are promoted to international financiers as progress to help poor countries. But peak behind the curtain and we see the investor-profit motives of private actors, both foreign and domestic.
The International Labour Organization’s Convention 169 (commonly known as ILO 169) is a binding international convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, adopted in 1989, which guarantees their rights and requires prior consultation for measures affecting their territories, such as the construction of hydroelectric dams or large-scale mechanized mining. In the Western Highlands of Guatemala (Huehuetenango Department), Indigenous communities have been organizing resistance to the Pojom I and Pojom II dam projects. Although both were already under construction (in violation of ILO 169), in August 2025 the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Energy and Mines to complete a consultation process within 12 months while allowing construction to continue. Communities have challenged that ruling before the Constitutional Court, arguing that a consultation after the continued construction cannot satisfy the requirement that it be “prior.”
As is common, defenders of land rights have been criminalized in this case. Rigoberto Juárez and Ermitaño López were arrested in 2015 for their peaceful role in opposing the hydroelectric projects. After being declared not guilty of serious charges in 2016 and released, an Appeals Court in 2021 reversed the ruling and significantly increased their sentences (to 8 and 24 years). After the Constitutional Court confirmed these sentences in February 2026, IRTF has joined with Indigenous rights organizations to review their convictions and address the documented procedural violations that led to their sentencing.
A shocking government report has revealed a 38% surge in cancer deaths and toxic arsenic poisoning in Guatemalan communities surrounding a controversial silver mine. Yet, despite these damning health findings and overwhelming rejection by indigenous Xinka communities, corporate giants are aggressively pushing to restart operations.
Human rights groups around the world are calling for an investigation into the death of political prisoner Brooklyn Rivera, Indigenous leader and Yatama political party leader.
After speaking out against the government of Nicaragua before the United Nations, Brooklyn Rivera was subjected to enforced disappearance and imprisoned in September 2023. Since that time there had been no confirmation of his imprisonment, and his family was barred from seeing him. But just a few days before he died on May 30, 2026, the Ministry of the Interior confirmed Rivera’s detention and published photos of him intubated in a hospital. The government attributed his death to a COVID infection, but human rights groups demand an independent investigation.
In IRTF’s letter to Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosa Murillo, we urge (1) an independent, transparent and thorough investigation on what happened exactly to Brooklyn Rivera, (2) an account of the specific conditions of his detention, including whether he had access to adequate medical care, and the exact sequence of events that led to his death, and (3) release of all arbitrarily detained persons and assurance that detention centers fully comply with international human rights standards
Detainees in Newark's detention center, Delaney Hall, are subject to work grueling jobs for only 1 dollar a day, if they are even paid at all. Despite the many demands for change, the GEO group refuses to take any action to improve the work conditions in Delaney Hall. This mistreatment has led to a labor and hunger strike of 300 migrants within the detention center. With the strike in effect, the guards have imposed both physical and mental torture to those imprisoned. When these conditions were revealed to the public through a letter by the migrants, a group of protesters gathered around Delaney Hall; they are still continuing their efforts to have the workers' conditions improved.
President Trump's deportation demands throughout his second term in office have caused an 80 percent increase in deportation flights, leading to mass carbon dioxide emissions. ICE's flight operations have accelerated the already imminent climate crisis. In fact, there was an 88 percent increase in ICE flight emissions from 2024 to 2025. In addition to the harmful impact on the environment, ICE imposes dangerous tactics to the detainees on board; they are often chained or placed in body-restraint suits. After the suffering endured while in flight, ICE has been sending detainees to cities and countries that are dangerous and are known to pose a threat to them upon arrival.
Though the original teachings of protecting the environment originate in the Bible, documents such as Laudato Si and Fratelli Tutti continue to promote ecological justice today. Forces such as capitalism are disrupting peace and driving exploitation of natural resources. Conflicts over natural resources must be solved with moral, cultural, and pastoral responses in collaboration with legal and economic frameworks. Many prominent members of the Catholic Church, such as Juan Antonio López, have worked vigorously to protect the people and the environment from capitalistic systems that are destroying the peace and planet. Holistic work like that of Juan Antonio López makes people targets to those who hold immense power and wealth. Tragically, Juan Antonio López was murdered in Honduras on September 14, 2024, for his activism. His death proves that peace and justice must work hand in hand for the common good.
Honduran authorities arrested former mayor Adán Fúnez and two others for allegedly masterminding the 2024 assassination of environmental activist Juan López, a prominent opponent of a controversial mining project. The case highlights ongoing violence against environmental defenders in Honduras, where activism remains highly dangerous amid corruption, impunity, and conflicts over natural resources.
this article coherently summarizes the devestating reality of central american countries overlooked inspite of international warfare in the middle east and aisa demanding attention
To expand its gold mining operations in Copán Department, MINOSA (a Honduran subsidiary of US-based Aura Minerals) began deforestation of the Cerro Los Hornillos mountain, a site of sacred and historical significance to the local Maya Chortí Indigenous community, in July 2025. Community members questioned the authority under which the company was operating and denounced MINOSA for failing to consult affected peoples prior to initiating work in the area. They expressed concern that the destruction of Cerro Los Hornillos could affect the geological integrity of the mountain area and vital waterways. So to protect the well-being of the environmental and the health of the community, in September 2025 residents installed a peaceful encampment at the foot of the mountain to block any expansion of gold mining into the Cerro Los Hornillos.
The corporation has the office of the public prosecutor and other state law enforcement on its side. On February 12, to help MINOSA expand its mining operations (even though it did not have express permission from neither the Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment nor the Honduras Institute for Geology and Mining), the Honduran military arrived at Cerro Los Hornillos to assist MINOSA in its deforestation by holding back the encampment of environmental defenders. On February 24, six encampment defenders had to appear at a court arraignment on charges of usurpation (illegal trespass/occupation). On May 5, they would appear in court again as a judge determines whether the public prosecutor has enough evidence to move the case forward.
Despite the severe social and environmental risks that this project poses, MINOSA is moving towards exploitation without any sign of institutional oversight.
