Stories about Guatemala

Portraits of ‘Children Who Have Children’ in Guatemala

  8 November 2013

Swedish photographer and journalist Linda Forsell has just started a Tumblr blog where she will be sharing her project “about young girls that have been sexually abused and have babies as a result of it.” Forsell explains: Through a strong photographic depiction following the lives of a few of the...

“Development For Who?” Guatemalans Resist Hydroelectric Project

  15 October 2013

“Development for who? Will the money stay in the community? No, it goes to fill others’ pockets, and we will continue to live in poverty. What we’re asking now is for the government to cancel all the [mining and hydroelectric] licenses that have been granted.” In Upside Down World, Kelsey...

Wave of Violence Against Guatemalan Journalists

  23 August 2013

Guatemalan journalists Carlos Alberto Orellana Chávez was gunned down on Monday, August 19, 2013; he is the fourth journalist killed in Guatemala this year. In an opinion piece [es] published in Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre, UN's special rapporteur for freedom of expression Frank La Rue denounced “the recent wave of...

Guatemalan Indigenous People Hold Peaceful Protests

  19 August 2013

As part of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Guatemalan indigenous people held peaceful protests around the country to demand that their rights be respected. Cultural Survival reported on the peaceful protests which were held on August 9, 2013: The general sentiment of the protests as sited by...

Rios Montt Testifies in Genocide Trial

  10 May 2013

On the 26th day of the historic Genocide trial against former de facto head of state Efrain Rios Montt and his Head of Intelligence Jose Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez, the prosecution and defense gave their closing statements and the main accused, Rios Montt, finally declared. James Rodriguez shares a photo essay...

#FLISOL 2013: Hundreds of Latin Americans Installing Free Software

  27 April 2013

From the Patagonia to Havana, hundreds of computer users across Latin America are choosing freedom over control by installing free software on their computers. On April 27th, groups of free software enthusiasts will be installing free software in dozens of cities across Latin America as part of FLISOL [es], the...

Nobel Laureates: On with Ríos Montt Trial

  26 April 2013

“If this case does not move forward, survivors of Guatemala’s genocide are being victimized all over again,” says Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams, co-founder of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. “They have taken a huge risk in testifying, and many have been harassed, intimidated and threatened. To annul the case would...

Guatemala's Genocide Trial Declared Invalid

  19 April 2013

After a turbulent week in the trial proceedings against former de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and former Intelligence Director José Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez in Guatemala, a lower court declared all proceedings invalid and reversed the criminal trial to the preliminary stage.

String of Killings Leaves Five Guatemalan Activists Dead

  25 March 2013

Although Guatemala is taking a giant step towards justice by prosecuting former dictator Efraín Rios Montt for genocide, problems with violence and impunity continue unresolved. In less than one month, five indigenous and social leaders have been kidnapped and murdered by gangs of armed men in different regions of rural Guatemala.

Photos: Day One in Trial of Former Guatemalan Dictator

  20 March 2013

Documentary photographer James Rodriguez shares a photo essay with “images from the first day of the historic trial against former de facto dictator Efraín Ríos Montt and former Intelligence Director José Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez. Ríos Montt and Rodriguez Sanchez are charged with Genocide and crimes against humanity during the civil war...

Former Guatemalan Dictator On Trial

  19 March 2013

Rios Montt's lawyer and others believe that the trial is a “political lynching” […] It doesn't matter if the guerrilas were going to turn “Guatemala into another Cuba;” the rape, torture, starvation and murder of civilians who might or might not have supported the guerrillas is just indefensible. But Rios Montt now...

Guatemala: Audience on Genocide Case

  22 January 2013

From Guatemala, blog Coordinación Genocidio nunca más [es] urges citizens to attend the historical court audience, where José Efraín Ríos Montt and José Mauricio Rodríguez Sánchez face trail for abuses against human rights during military rule in that country.