Afro-Descendant & Indigenous: News & Updates

We wrote to officials in Honduras about the attempted assassination of yet another Indigenous Lenca community leader, Nery Gonzáez, of the Achiotal community in Siguatepeque, in the department of Comayagua.

Nery González is one of the campesino leaders in Achiotal who is part of an effort to reclaim lands in order to plant food crops. On December 11, an unknown assailant shot him in the head while he was walking into his home. He was transferred to Hospital Escuela in Tegucigalpa where he was conscious but in serious condition. In spite of the fact that he was attacked at his home, by an unknown armed man, the police never came to his home to investigate and, as of December 15, had not yet conducted any investigation into the facts of the case.

Due to the farmers’ work there of reclaiming their ancestral lands, residents of Achiotal have been criminalized and persecuted by large private landowners, the National Police and the military. In October 2020, the National Police entered—at dawn—several houses without a search warrant and arrested six members of COPINH (Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras). They were previously victims of multiple attacks in order to evict them from the land. Two years later they are still facing unjust criminal charges. 

We wrote to officials in Honduras about the killing of yet another Indigenous community leader, Marco Antonio Pineda of the Guachipilín community in the department of La Paz on November 23, yet again by the authorities.

Marco Antonio Pineda was a leader in the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH).  The National Police killed him. First they arrested him and his cousins arbitrarily for no apparent reason in the community of El Encinal, as they were walking toward Guachipilin.  After the police brutally beat one of his cousins, Marco Antonio Pineda went toward his cousin to check on him. It was at that time one of the officers fired his weapon at Marco, causing a serious wound to his chest that eventually cost him his life. 

We urge that authorities in Honduras conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of  Marco Antonio Pineda by the National Police,  publish the results, and hold those responsible in a court of law.

We wrote to authorities in Guatemala to protest the forced displacement of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Chapín Abajo in El Estor, Izabal Department, carried out by agents of the National Civilian Police (PNC) and paramilitary forces.

On December 6, Guatemalan security forces arrived to carry out an eviction on behalf of the palm oil company NaturAceites, a member of the international Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Together with paramilitary forces, they raided homes of families, stealing their food and personal belongings. They fired tear gas on the residents. An investigative delegation arrived later and confirmed that several people were injured. A 17-year-old was seriously wounded and hospitalized in critical condition. At least one other young man was missing. Two other men suffered gunshot wounds. Several women were beaten and sustained injuries to their faces and bodies.

During the past several months, several Q'eqchi' communities have been evicted in the region of Alta Verapaz, Izabal and Petén.

We wrote to authorities in Guatemala to protest the forced displacement of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Se’inup’ in El Chal, Petén Department, carried out by agents of the National Civilian Police (PNC).

During the past several months, Q'eqchi' communities have been evicted in the region of Alta Verapaz, Izabal and Petén, despite the organized resistance of the Indigenous communities. Local government authorities continue to side with more powerful economic and political interests. In the case of Se’inup’, where 56 families engage in subsistence farming, they have been working through the legal process of land titling. Whether the state would give them all their land or half, they were ready to accept the ruling. In the meantime, they have nowhere else to go.

We are urging that authorities in Guatemala: (1) legally resolve the land conflict and grant at least half of the land to the families of Se’inup’, (2) stop issuing eviction orders while legal processes are still pending, and (3) stop siding with the interests of private companies over the needs of subsistence farmers

We wrote to authorities in Guatemala urging protection for Luis Adolfo Ich Choc, an elected representative of the Ancestral Council of the Q'eqchi' People of El Estor, Izabal Department. In recent months, Luis Adolfo Ich Choc has been the victim of robbery (September 16) and a beating that left him with a fractured shoulder (October 19). He is being targeted because of his active role in the organized resistance to the El Fénix nickel mine.

The nickel mining operation has been a source of contention and violence for many years in El Estor, a community where 90% of the inhabitants are indigenous Maya Q’eqchi’. The Swiss-Russian consortium Solway Investment Group purchased the mine from HudBay Minerals in 2011; the mine is operated by its subsidiary, the Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN). For the past 15 years, impacted residents have reiterated that the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) did not obtain their free, prior, and informed consent as required by national and international law (ILO Convention 169, the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention of 1989). In its ruling in 2019, the Constitutional Court of Guatemala ratified the right to consultation and resolved that the mining company had to suspend its mining activity.  The company later carried out a “consultation” but excluded many key actors, including the fishing communities and the local indigenous authorities. The mining operations continue in defiance of the spirit of the court ruling.