PBI-Guatemala has posted on Facebook:
“We stand in solidarity with Leocardio and CCDA Guatemala for repressive actions taken against the defender of human rights and access to land for indigenous communities and farmworkers This action shows what Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Rapporteur of the United Nations on the Right to Adequate Housing, that in Guatemala there is ‘a clear pattern of criminalization and intimidation towards those who attempt to protest or report these forced evictions.’”
Juracán is Kaqchikel Maya with a long history of activism.
On August 13, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “Leocadio Juracán Salome, leader of the Peasant Committee of the Altiplano (CCDA), was arrested this morning at La Aurora Airport when he was about to travel to South Africa for an international conference. According to information from his defense lawyers, the crimes for which Juracán was arrested are aggravated usurpation and provocation of forest fires.”
That article in Prensa Comunitaria further notes: “Juracán remains one of the representatives of the CCDA, an organization dedicated to the promotion of rural development of indigenous and peasant communities, which was founded in 1982, in the midst of the military dictatorships and came to light in 1989. Currently, the peasant organization accompanies indigenous communities and defenders of the territory in the face of eviction and criminalization issues in several departments of the country, including El Estor, Izabal and Alta Verapaz.”
On August 13, the Maritimes-Guatemala Breaking the Silence (BTS) Network posted on Instagram: “URGENT: BTS condemns today’s arrest of Leocadio Juracán, Agrarian Reform Coordinator of @ccdagt. TAKE ACTION NOW: Write to Guatemalan and Canadian government officials demanding Leocadio’s immediate release: LINK. Leocadio was detained this morning at La Aurora Airport as he was leaving the country to participate in a Translocal Social Movement Learning conference in South Africa. He is being criminalized for his work as a land and human rights defender. Leocadio is currently facing multiple charges, including Aggravated Trespass (usurpación), directly related to his advocacy for Indigenous and campesino communities across Guatemala.”
BTS highlights: “We call for Leocadio’s immediate release and an end to the ongoing criminalization of Indigenous and campesino leaders and communities.”
This morning (August 14), Prensa Comunitaria reported: “Leocadio Juracán was sent to prison at Mariscal Zavala. The judge authorized his transfer to said detention center until the judge who issued the arrest warrant schedules the first declaration hearing, which will take place in Izabal.”
Video still from lahoragt.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has previously highlighted: “The CCDA has lost 12 leaders to assassinations, and many more face imprisonment or threats. More than 1,060 CCDA members have capture orders against them.”
PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) of the Verapaces in the departments of Alta and Baja Verapaz, the municipality of El Estor in the department of Izabal and the Zona Reina in Quiché.
We continue to follow this.
PBI-Guatemala has also now shared this on their Facebook page. The message from the Forum of International Organizations in Guatemala (FONGI) says:
LEOCADIO JURACAN
“With pride and satisfaction, I encourage my colleagues to continue the fight, because it is a just fight.”
Peasant leader, former CCDA coordinator, and promoter of the Comprehensive Rural Development Law
From the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum, we stand in solidarity with Leocadio Juracan.
FONGI Guatemala”
