APG Letter: Arrest of Ancestral Authorities in Guatemala
The following letter was sent to Minister Melanie Joly, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs on April 29, 2025. It was approved to be sent unanimously on April 25, 2025 during the APG Annual General Meeting by 20 member organizations attending.
To: Minister Melanie Joly, Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Subject: Arrest of Ancestral Authorities in Guatemala
Dear Minister Joly,
Please accept greetings from the Americas Policy Group (APG). The APG is a national network of Canadian civil society organizations working for human rights and social and environmental justice in Latin America and the Caribbean. It brings together over twenty international development and humanitarian NGOs, human rights organizations, labour unions, faith-based and solidarity groups, and research institutions.
We write to express our deep concern regarding the recent arrest and criminalization of K’iche’ Indigenous authorities from the 48 Cantones of Totonicapán. On April 23, 2025, Guatemalan authorities detained Luis Pacheco, the country’s Deputy Minister of Energy and Mines and former president of 48 Cantones, along with Héctor Chaclán, former treasurer of 48 Cantones. Both are charged with sedition, terrorism, obstruction of justice, illicit association, and hindering legal action. Three additional arrest warrants have been issued against other former members of the 48 Cantones leadership. These actions are part of a broader effort by the Guatemalan Public Prosecutor’s Office to criminalize Indigenous authorities for facilitating the legitimate exercise of participatory democracy.
Since October 2023, Indigenous peoples in Guatemala, through their ancestral, assembly-based decision-making systems, alongside other social and territorial organizations, initiated a National Strike to defend the electoral victory of President Bernardo Arévalo and the popular will expressed at the polls. This movement, which spread to over 150 resistance points across the country, was a powerful expression of living democracy, led by Indigenous authorities who stood at the forefront in protecting the democratic process. The current charges—branding this peaceful mobilization as “terrorism”—represent an alarming escalation in the political persecution of human rights defenders.
This crackdown must be understood within the broader political context. Attorney General María Consuelo Porras, aligned with the pacto de corruptos network of institutional corruption, spearheaded efforts to overturn the 2023 election results. Despite being blacklisted by the international community—including sanctions imposed by the Government of Canada for her role in undermining democracy and the rule of law—Porras remains in office and continues to obstruct President Arévalo’s anti-corruption agenda. Lacking the authority to remove her, Arévalo’s administration has faced ongoing politically motivated prosecutions targeting independent journalists, prosecutors, judges, and members of his own government, including the president himself. The arrest of Luis Pacheco and Héctor Chaclán is the latest manifestation of this deepening crisis.
We believe that it is vital that the international community take a strong and vocal stance against criminalization and violence against human rights defenders. Writing on social media, Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General Luis Almagro “deeply lamented” Pacheco’s arrest, describing it as “political persecution”. This was echoed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Guatemala which, in a statement, expressed concerns regarding the “undue use of criminal law by actors within the attorney general’s office and judiciary against the defence of human rights”. Similarly, on April 28, the British Embassy in Guatemala expressed on social media its “profound concern about the persecution faced by Luis Pacheco and the Indigenous authorities of the 48 Cantones of Totonicapán,” emphasizing that “the use of the justice system as a weapon undermines the rule of law.” The United Kingdom reaffirmed its support for fundamental freedoms and the respect for human rights, including the right to protest and to assemble peacefully.
In light of this, we urge the Canadian government to take concrete action in support of Guatemalan human rights defenders, consistent with its Voices at Risk guidelines. We request clarification on the specific steps your office will take in this case to uphold Canada’s commitment to defending human rights and standing with those at risk.
We stand ready to provide additional information or facilitate direct contact with our Guatemalan partners to ensure your office is fully informed and equipped to act decisively in this matter.
Sincerely,
Americas Policy Group General Assembly