Guatemala: News & Updates

IRTF is grateful to the 200 supporters who gathered on October 27 at Pilgrim Church in Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood for IRTF’s annual Commemoration of the Martyrs. In addition to marking the 44th anniversary of the martyrdom of Cleveland’s missioners in El Salvador (Jean Donovan and Sister Dorothy Kazel, alongside Maryknoll Sisters Ita Ford and Maura Clarke), we commemorated 36 human rights defenders killed in Central America and Colombia this past year because they dared to speak truth to power.

Our keynote speaker, Lorena Araujo of the largest campesino organization in El Salvador (CRIPDES), held the crowd’s attention with horrific stories of mass arrests, detentions and deaths currently happening under their government’s State of Exception, now in its third year. With more 88,000 imprisoned (and more than 300 deaths in prison), El Salvador now has the highest incarceration rate in the world—surpassing the astronomical rate of incarceration in the United States. 

As the people of El Salvador face the greatest challenge to their democracy since the end of the civil war in 1992, they invite us to renew and deepen our solidarity.

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The new Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo thanks indigenous people for ensuring a peaceful transfer of power. Arévalo said with their 106 day long presence in front of the prosecutor’s office in Guatemala City they were able to save democracy.

At the same time, they were deprived in advance of the opportunity to vote for the Movement for the Liberation of the Peoples (MLP) party. MLP also fights for plurinationalism which is an important  issue for indigenous people. Maya Waqib’ Kej National Convergence and the Campesino Development Committee (CODECA) argues that the Guatemalan nation-state was founded by a small criollo elite that legalized racism and sexism, marginalizing women and Indigenous and Black peoples for the last 200 years. It stresses the need for grassroots solutions to construct a new plurinational state, defined as “the expressed will of all the peoples and sectors that coexist in a country.”  For some, a plurinational state would reorganize social relationships and rectify long-standing structural and institutional inequalities by recognizing Indigenous territorial rights, political autonomy, and buen vivir (good living/living well) as an alternative to capitalism.

After the elections in Guatemala, the “Pact of the Corrupt” tried to prevent the transfer of power to the democratically elected Bernardo Arevalo, who surprisingly won. But indigenous people managed to organize quickly and prevent this from happening. It was not an obvious battle for them to defend the representative democracy of a system from which they are excluded. Women, who are even more discriminated against in this system, have played a central role in this.
Abigail Monroy, Maya Kaqchikel and ancestral authority of Chuarrancho, said that now “we have a president who understands the people and is willing to work with the people”, but it is also “just a turning point on a long road”.

NISGUA’s press release on the latest updates in the historic Guatemalan case charging ex-general Manuel Benedicto Lucas Garcia with genocide against the Maya Ixil people. On August 12, the accused made a frivolous and malicious attempt to dismiss the case. Yet, the fight continues and elders from the three municipals of the Maya Ixil region who are unable to travel to the capital due to advanced age or health issues are preparing to give their testimonies in Nebaj, Guatemala next week. 

In this critical moment, a month before the expected end of the trial, we call upon international media to continue to shine a spotlight on the case and reflect upon the international community’s role in enabling the genocide. In particular, the United States provided training to the Guatemalan police and military, promoted the ‘internal enemy’ doctrine, and taught torture techniques, forced disappearance, and counterinsurgency tactics. Survivors of the genocide of the Maya Ixil people and their families and communities have been awaiting justice for over 40 years, and the fight will continue until justice prevails. 

In this monthly newsletter, please read about : 1) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, 2) US Government Policy: Some legislators and DHS trying to do more to offer humanitarian relief to migrants, 3) Migration Impacts on Women, 4) At the Border, 5) Beyond Borders: Health and Safety in the Age of Migration in Mexico, 6) Changing Demographics: Migrants to the US Come from Different Corners of the Globe, 7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human rights abuses and the need for human pathways to safety, 8) Texas Gets Tough on Migrants, 9) Economic Benefits of Immigration – both documented and undocumented migrants, 10) Biden Can Claim Record Numbers of Removals.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Here is what you can do to take action this week and act in solidarity with migrants and their families. (See details at the bottom of this newsletter.)

A) Join a Solidarity Delegation to Southern Mexico:  November 11-16, 2024

B) Stop Criminalizing Migrants Traveling through the Darién Gap

C) Volunteer to Assistant Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland: Catholic Charities

D) Volunteer to Assistant Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland: NEO Friends of Immigrants

E) Get Paid to Assist Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland

F) Act Now for Welcoming, Dignified, and Just Immigration

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

The article from Mary Jo McConahay in the National Catholic Reporter on August 6, 2024, discusses the ongoing trial of General Benedicto Lucas García in Guatemala for crimes committed during the country's 36-year internal armed conflict. The trial has highlighted debates among experts over whether the atrocities committed against the Ixil Maya should be classified as genocide or war crimes. Despite differing opinions on terminology, the trial underscores the profound impact of the violence, which included mass murders, cultural destruction, and forced reorganization of communities. The case is seen as crucial for transitional justice in Guatemala, aiming to hold perpetrators accountable and facilitate healing for survivors affected by the violent campaign.

The article by Jeff Abbott in The Progressive discusses the forced exile of Lilian Virginia Laparra Rivas, a former anti-corruption prosecutor in Guatemala, due to political persecution. Laparra Rivas, who worked with the Special Prosecutor’s Office Against Impunity (FECI), joins several others who have been exiled since 2021. She was convicted twice—once in December 2022 and again in July 2024—for her anti-corruption work, with Amnesty International labeling her a prisoner of conscience.

The article highlights the broader context of political persecution in Guatemala, noting that other figures, such as journalist José Rubén Zamora, have also faced severe repression. Zamora, in pre-trial detention for over 700 days, has reportedly been subjected to torture and unsanitary conditions.

The current situation underscores the challenges faced by President Bernardo Arévalo, who has struggled to address the judicial branch's corruption, particularly under Attorney General María Consuelo Porras. Despite attempts to remove Porras and reform the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the administration has yet to succeed, and human rights in Guatemala remain at risk.

The United States has long been a destination of migrants from around the world seeking safety and new opportunities. The image of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty welcoming “the poor huddled masses” is ingrained in our collective memory and culture.

Yes, there are many coming to our southern border seeking safety. Many of those come from countries whose people have been negatively impacted by US economic and military policies. They come here because we went there.

While the US was the world’s largest recipient of new asylum applications in 2023 (1.2 million), it is desperately trying to deter migrants from seeking refuge here. On June 4, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new plans to “secure our border.” It bars migrants from even asking for asylum. The unwelcoming attitude that the US presents toward migrants is illustrated not only by Biden’s recent asylum ban and the monthly increase in US migrant detention, now standing at 38,525.

In IRTF’s July 2024 Migrant Justice newsletter, please read about (1)   Asylum Processing at the US-Mexico Border, (2) ICE Air: Update on Removal Flight Trends, (3)  Migrants in Colombia: Between Government Absence and Criminal Control, (4) At the Border: Recent Incidents at and around the US-Mexico Border, (5) Honduras plans to build a 20,000-capacity ‘megaprison’ for gang members as part of a crackdown, (6) Thousands of displaced residents in southern Mexico fear returning to their homes after violence, (7) Danger in the Darién Gap: Human Rights Abuses and the Need for Humane Pathways to Safety, (8) America Turned Against Migrant Detention Before. We Can Do It Again, (9)  Asylum claims are down over 40% in Mexico, and (10) UN Refugee Agency Global Trends Report 2023.

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 this newsletter.)

A) Act Now for welcoming, dignified and just immigration policies

B) Root Causes: Stop Deportation Flights to Haiti

C) Root Causes: Restore Asylum for LGBTQ+ Refugees in Danger

D) Think Globally. Act Locally: Help Migrants and Refugees in Cleveland

Read the full newsletter at https://www.irtfcleveland.org/blog/migrant-justice-newsletter-jul-2024