Urgent Action: Attacks Against Xinca Leaders Continue (Guatemala: UA 21.21)

On 7 February 2021, Luis Fernando García Monroy, member of the Xinca Parliament, received a death threat by a man in Aldea El Volcancito (east Guatemala). Three weeks earlier, another member of the Xinca Parliament, Julio David González Arango, was shot by an armed man in Mataquescuintla (south east Guatemala). Luis Fernando and Julio David have been defending the rights of the Xinca people from the impact of the Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine and faced attacks in the past due to their work. We call for a prompt, independent, and impartial investigation into these attacks and any other previous aggressions against the Xinca People.

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CONTACT INFORMATION

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SAMPLE LETTER Dear Attorney General Porras, I am writing to express my concern about the recent attacks against Xinca defender Luis Fernando García Monroy in Aldea El Volcancito, in the Santa Rosa department, east Guatemala. According to the defender, on 7 February 2021, a man allegedly linked to a mining company operating in the region and two other men intercepted him on the road. The man insulted and threatened him and his relatives, and together with the other two men tried to force Luis Fernando to get out of his car. Luis Fernando García’s 17-year-old brother, who arrived in a motorcycle at the scene shortly thereafter, was hit and injured by the same man. These events occurred after a series of attacks against other members of the Xinca Parliament. On 16 January 2021, Xinca defender Julio David González Arango was shot and seriously injured by an armed man on his property in Mataquescuintla, a town in the Jalapa department, south-east Guatemala. I call on you to conduct a prompt, independent, and impartial investigation into the attacks against Luis Fernando García Monroy and Julio David González Arango and any previous aggression against the Xinca People, taking into account the fact that these crimes may have been linked to the victims’ work defending human rights, and to bring those responsible to justice. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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