source: nacla
In the last decade, Ch’orti’ people of Guatemala have endured a strenuous uphill battle to expel a mining company from their ancestral territory. In 2012, Cantera Los Manantiales, a local subsidiary of a U.S.-based multinational company, purchased land in Olopa, the highlands of Eastern Guatemala. It obtained a mining license without a proper environmental assessment or a free, prior, and informed consultation with Indigenous communities living nearby—a requirement of both Guatemalan and international law.
Through its mining activities, the company polluted the river, soil, and ecosystem with highly toxic minerals and chemicals, killing animals and leaving community members ill. When the community fought back, the company harassed and persecuted those in opposition to the project, directly killing one community member and falsely accusing ten people of illegally detaining the owner of the mine. The Ch’orti’ people who were prosecuted have been found innocent and mining operations have ceased, but the struggle continues. Ch’orti’ communities are still fighting for the definitive closure of the mine.
The Extraction of a Toxic Mineral
Cantera Los Manantiales is the name given to several Guatemalan subsidiary companies owned by the multinational corporation Texas American Minerals. Despite having caused insurmountable harm to Ch’orti’ communities, they have managed to conceal their actions by using subsidiaries to disguise their links to foreign capital and appear more local. In the past decade, Cantera Los Manantiales has operated under the names American Minerals S.A., Industria de Canteras S.A., and Industria de Canteras y Minas S.A. In 2012, the mine was granted a 25-year license to exploit antimony and other minerals in lands neighboring dozens of Ch’orti’ communities. Antimony is a toxic mineral used in the production of microchips. It is extracted through open-pit mining, a polluting process that requires large quantities of water. Ch’orti’ communities did not learn about the mining company until 2015, when they saw the machinery enter the property, heard dynamite explode, and noticed that their water was contaminated with unknown chemicals and minerals.
Shortly after their operations began, Cantera Los Manantiales started pouring contaminated water into Río Jupilingo.
Ch’orti’ communities soon learned that antimony is lethal. Shortly after their operations began, Cantera Los Manantiales started pouring contaminated water into Río Jupilingo. The water then flowed through rivers and streams, carrying with it residues of antimony and other toxic minerals and chemicals. Dozens of Ch’orti’ communities, who relied on water from Río Jupilingo for consumption and sanitation, saw how the fish in the creeks and the animals in people’s homes started dying due to the contaminated water. Touching water contaminated with antimony provokes hives and ulcers in the skin, eye irritation, and infections in the ears and nose. If ingested, contaminated water can cause irreversible damage to the stomach, intestines, and liver. A Ch’orti’ grandfather told Peace Brigades International how, after the passing of his daughter from drinking polluted water, he is now raising his orphaned grandchildren. Because of these toxic effects on their health and the environment, Ch’orti’ communities almost unanimously oppose the operation of the mine.
Threats, Death, and a Peaceful Blockade
Ch’orti’ communities resorted to many forms of resistance in their struggle to shut down the mine. First, they turned to lobbying and advocacy. The Consejo Indígena Maya Ch’orti’ is an organization dedicated to restoring ancestral forms of social organization, protecting the environment, and defending human rights in Eastern Guatemala. In 2017, appointed leaders of the Consejo met with officials at the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the Ministry of Environment and National Resources, and the Municipality of Olopa to issue a complaint against the mine for their impact on the environment. Government officials ordered an inspection at Cantera Los Manantiales, which revealed that the mine was not complying with Guatemala’s law regarding extractivism and environmental protection. As a next step, the Consejo filed a formal complaint to the Prosecutor’s Office for Crimes Against the Environment.
The company retaliated against Ch’orti’ people. Elizandro Pérez, one of the most active representatives of the movement against the mine, was continuously threatened. He started receiving phone calls where anonymous callers would threaten to beat him up or kill him in retribution for his advocacy. Soon after, the threat became a reality. On November 20, Elizandro Pérez visited a few family members and neighbors. People told him the mine was getting more dangerous because they saw the machinery enter the property, and they asked him to be careful. He returned home and asked his wife to make dinner. Hours later, she found him dead in their home, struck down at the age of 36. The community believes his death was likely precipitated by the threats he received from Cantera Los Manantiales.
In 2019, the complaint against the mine moved to a court in Guatemala City. Despite their legal issues, the company wanted to resume operations on the mine, so Ch’orti’ communities established a peaceful blockade in each of the mine’s entrances and took turns guarding the area. In so doing, they drew on a wider strategy of peaceful resistance that is a staple of Indigenous-led anti-extractive movements in Guatemala.
Determined to protect their profits, the company went after them once more. In July of that year, the owner’s husband, Odilio de Jesús Guzmán Salazar, and his son, Rony Leonardo Guzmán, tried to enter the property. They damaged a motorcycle that was blocking the road and broke a chain that was locking the entrance to the mine. Community members tried to reason with them and called the police and the Attorney General’s Office of Human Rights. Authorities wrote up a report of the incident, but the police did not investigate further. Nevertheless, Odilio Guzmán claimed he had been held hostage and filed charges against thirty-eight Ch’orti’ community members, all of whom were subsequently placed under investigation.
Dubious Legal Proceedings
In November 2019, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the license of Cantera Los Manantiales should be cancelled due to lack of compliance with environmental regulations. However, the Ministry of Energy and Mines appealed to the Constitutional Court, and in 2020, the mine tried to resume operations. Ch’orti’ leaders continued advocating for the closure of the mine and the Ministry of Environment ordered another inspection. Despite the legal pressure, the mine did not give up, so Ch’orti’ communities escalated the pressure once again.
“We heard about activity at the mine. We started patrolling again because we’re still organized, and we realized they tried [to open it] again,” said a member of the community, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. “That’s how things are. Sometimes we hear a rumor or a threat, and the patrols around the mine start up again. The mine has seen that we’re still organized,” they added.
Although they successfully blocked the mine’s operations, community members were unable to protect themselves from threats and intimidation. Medardo Alonzo, another leader of the resistance to the mine, received threats and then was found dead on June 15, 2020. Though reports indicate that he had been beaten with stones and strangled, his death has not been investigated.
To make matters worse, in 2021 the Constitutional Court ruled that Cantera Los Manantiales’ license to operate was valid, and a Court of First Instance in Chiquimula started processing Ch’orti’ community members for the events of 2019. Defending themselves in court against fraudulent accusations was a new chapter in Ch’orti’ people’s battle against the mine. Ten people were charged with illegally detaining the mine’s owner and son. In Guatemala, this crime is punishable by 4 to 6 years in prison.
Although they successfully blocked the mine’s operations, community members were unable to protect themselves from threats and intimidation.
To weaken community resistance to the mining operation, the company targeted people who were committed to opposing the project. Two elderly men, three women, one young man, and four adult men were charged with the crime. The circumstances of their arrests were extraordinary and perplexing. Four people were cited to give their testimony on a different case but were instead brought into custody. One woman was separated from her two daughters at the time of the arrest. Instead of returning the children to family members immediately after the arrest, the police patrol took the children to the nearby town of Esquipulas, thereby instilling mistrust in police officers and state personnel in general.
In the meantime, Cantera Los Manantiales continued accusing community members to instill fear and discourage resistance. During the first hearings, one of the company’s lawyers approached the accused community members in an attempt to negotiate with them. She asked them to let the mine reopen in exchange for dropping the charges. Ch’orti’ people felt insulted. The toxic effects of antimony would bring ecological destruction and death to their communities. They know their territory and health are not negotiable, so they chose to endure the long legal battle.
The process of defending themselves was draining. One of the elders began suffering from health issues due to the stresses of the trial. The uncertainty associated with legal persecution created significant emotional stress, but the opposition to the mine continued. On December 4, 2025, they were all declared innocent. In her verdict, the judge recognized the struggle and resistance of Ch’orti’ people—a struggle in which everyone has participated, including children, youth, adults, and the elders. As the mine looks to re-open once again, that resistance is set to continue.
The Struggle Continues
Throughout the process, Guatemalan courts have prioritized the rights of the mining company over the rights of Indigenous people. Although the Constitutional Court confirmed that Ch’orti’ communities should have been consulted, they still ruled that the mine’s license to operate was valid, and the company has sought to resume its mining activities. A few months ago, community members heard there was activity at the mine property and started guarding the area again. Recently, the Municipal Council of Olopa signed an agreement positioning themselves against extractivism.
While commemorating ten years of resistance against the mine, Ch’orti’ people fear that the desire to continue exploiting their territories has not subsided. A decade of resistance has taught them much about the ways that these companies work to divide local communities, including how development funds are leveraged as a form of negotiation. Extractive companies come into impoverished communities offering a school or a health clinic in return for approval to continue mining. Though at times tempting, Ch’orti’ people remain united around a slogan of “no a la minería,” rejecting these tainted handouts and insisting that their community is not for sale.
