Ambassador Hugo Eduardo Beteta
Embassy of Guatemala
2220 R St. NW.
Washington, DC 20008
July 22, 2026
Dear Ambassador Beteta:
We are writing to express our concerns regarding President Bernado Arévalo’s failure to comply with the Agrarian Agreement he signed on February 7, 2024, with Indigenous and rural farmer (campesino) organizations and the continuation of violent evictions of Indigenous and campesino communities during his administration.
The Agrarian Agreement committed the Arévalo government to resolve agrarian conflicts, improve access to land, strengthen campesino communities, and establish a permanent dialogue space between the government and campesino organizations. More than two years have passed without meaningful compliance. The Committee for Peasant Unity (CUC) and the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) have made repeated attempts to engage the government, including an open letter in May 2025, an emergency meeting in August 2025, a written request for an urgent hearing in November 2025, and a direct request for an audience submitted on March 13, 2026—all without a response. On May 7, 2026, the CUC filed a writ of amparo against President Arévalo for his failure to respond within the 30 business days required by Article 28 of the Guatemalan Constitution.
Key institutions including the Land Fund, the Cadastral Information Registry, and the Ministry of Agriculture have demonstrated an inability to provide communities with access to land or support for the rural family economy. Land tenure rights remain unregularized for hundreds of communities. Meanwhile, violent evictions have continued under the current administration, including three ordered evictions affecting over 130 families in the departments of Izabal, Alta Verapaz, and Quetzaltenango, as well as three extrajudicial evictions in Alta Verapaz between 2024 and 2025.
We urge authorities to:
- fulfill the commitments of the 2024 Agrarian Agreement, including establishing a functioning permanent dialogue speech with Indigenous and campesino organizations
- respond to the CUC and CCDA’s pending requests for an urgent audience with President Arévalo, as required by Article 28 of the Constitution
- immediately halt extrajudicial evictions and ensure that any court-ordered evictions comply with international human rights standards protecting rural farming communities
- direct relevant institutions, including the Land Fund, the Cadastral Information Registry, and the Ministry of Agriculture to take concrete steps toward resolving agrarian conflicts and regularizing land tenure rights for affected communities
Sincerely,
Brian J. Stefan Szittai
Co-coordinator
copies:
Lic. José Alejandro Córdova, Ombudsman for Human Rights (PDH) ~ via email
IACHR: Andrea Pochak (Rapporteur for Guatemala) and Riyad Insanally (Rights of Indigenous Peoples), Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ~ via email
OACNUDH: Viviana de la Peña, Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos en Guatemala (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) ~ via email
Comité de Unidad Campesina / Committee for Campesino Unity (CUC) ~ vial email
US Embassy in Guatemala: Jorgan K Andrews, Chargé d’Affaires ~ via email
US State Department: Guatemala Desk Officers in Washington, DC ~ via email
US Senators from Ohio: Husted and Moreno ~ via email
US Representatives from Ohio: Beatty, Brown, Jordan, Joyce, Kaptur, Latta, Miller, Rulli, Sykes ~ via email
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