Ambassador Hugo Eduardo Beteta
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R St. NW.
Washington, DC 20008
October 26, 2025
Dear Ambassador Beteta:
We are writing to express our concern over the escalating acts of intimidation targeting journalist and human rights defender Carlos Ernesto Choc. On September 10, an unidentified vehicle rammed into the fence surrounding Choc’s house in El Estor, Izabel Department. This incident was followed by shots being fired into the air near his home, with subsequent shots fired in close proximity on several more occasions. Additionally, unidentified armed men on motorcycles were seen driving through the community, creating a threatening atmosphere for Carlos Choc and his neighborhood community.
These acts of inimidationfollow a pattern of harassment, threats, and arbitrary arrest that have been ongoing for the past several years, seemingly related to Carlos Choc’s coverage of the persecution of Indigenous community leaders, evictions, and harmful mining operations on Maya Q’eqchi’ land in the Sierra de Santa Cruz. Illegal mining operations by the Montreal-based Central America Niquel (CAN) continue in El Estor, where more than 90% of the 82,500 inhabitants are Indigenous Maya Q’eqchi’. For decades they have been exposed to the pollution caused by the El Fénix nickel mine: contaminating Lake Izabal and other local water sources, threatening fishers’ source of income. Because of their outspoken opposition, residents have been unjustly criminalized and many the victims of land grabbing, arson, and repression. After years of filing denunciations with the government, on July 30 the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) announced the cancellation of ten environmental licenses granted for mining operations in the region. Despite this, Central America Niquel (CAN) and its subsidiaries, Río Nickel S.A. and Nichromet Guatemala, have continued to illegally push ahead with mining operations.
The escalating nature of the threats against Carlos Choc suggests a deliberate attempt to silence his work promoting environmental defense and Indigenous rights. He has been persecuted for many years. In 2017, Carlos Choc unjustly faced criminal charges after covering the death of a fisherman during a peaceful demonstration (cf our letter 23 OCT 2017); the charges were eventually dropped in 2024. In 2020, Carlos Choc was the victim of a robbery, in which only his work equipment, camera, and cell phones were stolen. In October 2021, during a period when Carlos Choc was covering a potential eviction of mining resistance Indigenous authorities, two army trucks accompanied by National Civilian Police (PNC) knocked down the gate to his house and raided his home (cf our letter 11 NOV 2021).
The criminalization of Carlos Choc for performing vital journalistic work is deeply concerning. We urge that authorities:
(1) take action to investigate the source of the ongoing acts of intimidation against Carlos Ernesto Choc
(2) implement measures to ensure the ability of Carlos Ernesto Choc to safely continue his investigative work
(3) order and enforce a suspension of all mining activities at the El Fénix mine
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai
Co-coordinator
copies:
Lic. José Alejandro Córdoba, Ombudsman for Human Rights (PDH) ~ via email
IACHR: Andrea Pochak (Rapporteur for Guatemala) and Arif Bulkan (Rights of Indigenous Peoples), Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via email and US mail
OACNUDH: Mika Kanervavuori, Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos en Guatemala (UN)) ~ via email
US State Department: Tobin John Bradley (US Ambassador to Guatemala) and Guatemala Desk Officers in Washington, DC ~ via email
US Senators Husted and Moreno ~ via email
US Representatives Beatty, Brown, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Miller, Rulli, Sykes ~ via email
07 OCT 2025_GHRC-USA_Guatemala
