Anti-Militarism: News & Updates

In IRTF’s June 2024 newsletter on Migrant Justice, please read about (1)  President Biden Announces New Actions to Secure the Border; Critics point to its illegality, (2)  ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3) Child Migration in Darien Gap, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Mind the Darién Gap, Migration Bottleneck of the Americas, (6)  Immigration Court: unjust denials call for structural realignment, not further restrictions, and (7) Immigration is the demographic savior too many refuse to acknowledge.

Then take a few minutes to read what you can do to take action this week in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of the newsletter.)

A) Support LGBTQ+ Migrants

B) Oppose Border Closures

C) Support Migrants in Detention

D) Root Causes: Cut US Militarism in Latin America

Read the full IRTF Migrant Justice Newsletter each month at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog

The ongoing genocide trial against former Guatemalan military general Manuel Benedicto Lucas García, which started on March 25, 2024, in Guatemala City, continues to uncover the military's atrocities during the early 1980s genocide of the Maya Ixil people. Lucas García is being tried for his role in the forced disappearances and massacres in Santa María Nebaj, San Juan Cotzal, and San Gaspar Chajul, with over 844 victims identified.

These testimonies aim to shed light on the atrocities and the role of the Guatemalan armed forces and U.S. complicity. The Maya Ixil people seek justice and acknowledgment of the genocide from the Guatemalan government. The trial is being followed and supported by organizations such as AJR and NISGUA, with coverage available via social media and specific websites.

Rigoberta Menchú's memoir, I, Rigoberta Menchú, details the brutal history of an American-backed counterinsurgency against Guatemala's Maya population. The Maya, historically subjected to exploitation and forced labor, faced massacres, rape, and destruction in the name of anti-communism. Menchú, who lost nearly her entire family to military regimes, documented these atrocities and the community's struggle for land and rights. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and founded Winaq, Guatemala's first indigenous political party. Her activism highlighted the devastating impacts of colonialism and modern exploitation, emphasizing the Maya's resilience and ongoing fight for justice.

On July 28, 1982, Salvadoran military and state security agents illegally captured and violently disappeared Patricia Emilie Cuéllar Sandoval, a dual US and Salvadoran citizen, her father Mauricio Cuéllar, and their household worker Julia Orbelina Pérez. Patricia, who would have been the author’s aunt, was a human rights defender involved in Catholic youth movements and grassroots organizations. Despite a lengthy pursuit of justice, their families have not received answers about their whereabouts.

After four decades, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) declared the Salvadoran state responsible for their forced disappearances in 2024. This ruling marks a significant step toward justice for forced disappearance cases from the Salvadoran civil war, but impunity remains under President Nayib Bukele, who denies the history of the war and blocks investigations into military crimes. The US government, which supported the Salvadoran military dictatorship, also bears responsibility for withholding crucial information that could provide insight into these cases.

On July 28, 1982, three people were illegally captured and violently disappeared by Salvadoran military and state security agents: Patricia Emilie Cuéllar Sandoval, a US and Salvadoran citizen; her father Mauricio Cuéllar Cuéllar; and Julia Orbelina Pérez, a domestic worker in the Cuéllars’ home. On May 16, 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found the state of El Salvador responsible for the forced disappearances of Patricia, Mauricio, and Julia Orbelina.

The IACHR ruling marks a crucial milestone on the road to justice in forced disappearance cases during the civil war. Nevertheless, the Salvadoran state’s policy of impunity persists as Bukele’s regime denies civil war history, refuses a transitional justice law for the victims, and blocks investigations into war crimes by the military. The United States is also guilty of contributing to this culture of impunity. The US government, which played a role in and condoned the atrocities committed during the military dictatorship, is withholding crucial information that could offer additional insight into the case.

With the inauguration of President Arévalo in January 2024, there is hope for a government in Guatemala that is less corrupt, more democratic and more responsive to the needs of the country’s population. On June 10, two members of the US House (Rep Torres of California and Rep. Ramirez of Ilinois) wrote to Secretary of State Blinken, urging that the US State Department show strong support for the democratic transition in Guatemala. They urged him: “do all in your power to support the Guatemalan people in their fight for a truly independent and credible judiciary that provides justice for the people.”

For years, Garífuna community members and leaders have been threatened, arrested, abducted and murdered. Most notably, in July 2020, four Garífuna men were abducted at gunpoint by men wearing uniforms bearing the logo of a Honduran security forces unit. Instead of calling for an investigation into those responsible, the Honduran Attorney General has called for criminal proceedings against leaders of the Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH).

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have determined that the Garífuna community’s rights have repeatedly been violated by the Honduran government, yet little has changed regarding their treatment. This resolution condemns the violence toward the Garífuna people while calling for accountability from the Honduran government and other international institutions for their role in these abuses.

In the US House of Represenatives on June 5, Representatives Cori Bush (MO-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jesus “Chuy” García (IL-04), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (NY-16) reintroduced a resolution that affirms the rights of the Afro-Indigenous Garífuna people in Honduras. IRTF calls on all US representatives from Ohio to support this resolution.