LETTER TO IACHR: Request for precautionary measures for Indigenous rights defender Leocadio Juracán Salome

April 26, 2026 

TO:

Dra. Tania Reneaum Panszi, Secretaria Ejecutiva 

Interamerican Commission on Human Rights

1889 F Street, N.W. Washington, D.C., USA

Letter of support for the CCDA’s request for precautionary measures for Leocadio Juracán Salomé.

Esteemed Doctor Reneaum Panszi: 

Cordial greetings from the Americas Policy Group (APG), a Canadian network of 22 civil society organizations working together with organizations and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean for human rights, social justice and the defense of territories. We are writing to you and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to express our support for the request by the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) in Guatemala for precautionary measures for human rights defender and Indigenous leader Leocadio Juracán Salomé. We request that our letter of support be added to the CCDA’s application file. 

According to the information provided by the CCDA , Mr. Juracán Salomé was arrested on August 13, 2025 at La Aurora International Airport in Guatemala City, when he was preparing to travel to an international event on sustainable agriculture and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. The CCDA has expressed its deep concern that this detention is part of a broader context of criminalization and prosecution of human rights defenders in Guatemala, especially those who accompany Indigenous and campesino communities affected by territorial dispossession, forced displacement and agrarian conflicts. 

We are particularly concerned that Mr. Juracán has already been the target of previous attacks on his physical integrity, a situation that forced him into exile in 2010. Likewise, his public and community career in defense of the rights of Indigenous peoples and campesino communities has increased his exposure to risk. In this sense, Mr. Juracán's detention cannot be analyzed in isolation, but in the context of a persistent pattern of harassment, criminal prosecution, and stigmatization against defenders of land, territory, and collective rights in Guatemala. 

We also note with alarm recent reports documenting an increasingly adverse environment for Indigenous and campesino rights defenders in Guatemala. In March 2026, Global Witness published research detailing how Indigenous leaders, land activists, and campesino organizations face coordinated campaigns of defamation, criminalization and stigmatization on social media, as well as criminal prosecutions, in a context of weakening judicial independence and persecution against those who defend human rights. The report specifically identifies the case of Leocadio Juracán as an example of a series of aggressions and acts of criminalization against members of the CCDA, and describes the existence of public narratives that seek to falsely present CCDA members as criminals or terrorists, thus increasing their vulnerability and risk to their personal integrity. 

We note with concern that other international organizations have warned about threats to rights defenders in Guatemala, and the improper use of criminal law against those who accompany legitimate claims of access to land, territorial defense, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples. 

APG member organizations maintain a long-standing relationship with the CCDA, based on accompaniment and collaboration in the defense of human rights.  In 2010, when Mr. Leocadio Juracán Salomé was forced into exile due to threats against his integrity, he lived for several months in Canada, where Canadian organizations played an important role in supporting him and making his situation visible.  

Since then, Mr. Juracán has traveled to Canada on several occasions to participate in meetings with civil society organizations and government authorities to raise awareness of the human rights situation in Guatemala. 

On his most recent arrest, several APG member organizations, including BC CASA-Café Justicia, the Maritime Guatemala Breaking the Silence Network (BTS) and Peace Brigades International (PBI), issued public statements to raise awareness of the case and express concern about his detention. In addition, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Canada's largest union representing more than 750,000 members, formally expressed its concern through an open letter.

Such expressions of support reflect broad international recognition for Mr. Juracán's work and underscore the seriousness of the risks he faces.  

Under these circumstances, we believe that Mr. Juracán's situation meets the elements of gravity, urgency, and risk of irreparable harm contemplated in Article 25 of the IACHR's Rules of Procedure. 

In view of the above, the Americas Policy Group respectfully requests the Honorable Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to: 

FIRST. Please consider this letter submitted and add it to the corresponding file. 

SECOND. Take into consideration this statement of support for the request submitted by the CCDA on behalf of Leocadio Juracán Salomé. 

THIRD. Grant, as soon as possible, the precautionary measures necessary to protect his life, personal integrity, and other human rights, in accordance with the standards of the Inter-American System. 

FOURTH. Call on the State of Guatemala to immediately adopt effective protection measures, in concert with the beneficiary and his representatives, aimed at preventing further acts of violence, harassment, stigmatization, or criminalization against him. 

We thank you in advance for the attention paid to this communication and reiterate our concern for the safety and integrity of Mr. Leocadio Juracán Salomé, and for the broader situation faced by those who defend the rights of Indigenous peoples and campesinos in Guatemala. 

Thank you for your consideration of our request. 

Sincerely, 

Kathy Price, National Coordinator of the Americas Policy Group (APG)

Arturo Ezquerro-Cañete, National Coordinator of the Maritimes-Breaking the Silence Network (BTS)