PBI-Guatemala observes march in Guatemala City that denounces the ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

Published by Brent Patterson on October 6, 2025 October 6, 2025

On October 5, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:

“Today, #PBI observes the Guatemalan march denouncing the #Genocide in Gaza. Hundreds of people exercised their right to protest and free speech to show solidarity and denounce the various crimes suffered by the Palestinian people, recalling their own history.”

Photo: This photo shared by PBI-Guatemala features a placard at the march that says: “In honour of the heroes of the Sumud flotilla, the world is indebted to you.”

Prensa Comunitaria also reported on the protest:

“Civil society groups and organisations hold a march in Guatemala City to mark two years of genocide in Gaza.

The march began with around 200 people setting off from the Peace Monument to the Plaza of the Children.

The marchers said that the march was an act of solidarity with all the victims of the attacks in the Gaza Strip.

During the march, they called for the severing of relations with the State of Israel.”

Photo: This photo by PBI-Guatemala includes a placard that says: “Stop the genocide”.

Photo: This photo by PBI-Guatemala features a placard that says: “260 journalists assassinated”.

France 24 also reported “Pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Guatemala demand Arévalo take a stand”.

And No-Ficción, an independent collective of investigative journalists in Guatemala, further documents: “The government of Bernardo Arévalo has committed more than US$10.3 million in arms purchases from Israel, under a Memorandum of Understanding on military cooperation signed in 2023. The contracts include acquisitions from Elbit Systems and Marom Dolphin, two companies singled out by the UN as part of ‘the economy of genocide’ in Gaza.”

The No-Ficción article continues:

“One of the companies to which Israel made part of its military supplies purchase to Guatemala conditional is Elbit Systems. The Arévalo government, as reported by the Ministry of Finance’s Integrated Accounting System (SICOIN), has paid it nearly Q38 million (US$4.9 million) for the purchase of ammunition, microbinoculars, and advanced technology communication kits.

In total, Elbit has three current contracts with Guatemala worth around Q46,497,807 (US$6,077,130), according to the Memorandum of Understanding Implementation Agreements created by Bernardo Arévalo’s Ministry of Defence.

According to the UN report, Elbit Systems is not only Israel’s largest arms manufacturer, it is also an important cog in the wheel that ensures the continuity of the war machine in Gaza.”

“Recalling their own history”: the genocide in Guatemala

The 36-year-long war (internal armed conflict) in Guatemala began in November 1960 (after a US-backed coup in June 1954) and ended in December 1996 with signing of the Agreement for a Firm and Lasting Peace.

The internal armed conflict killed an estimated 200,000 people and displaced more than one million people between 1960 and 1996.

45,000 people are still unaccounted, including 5,000 children.

The conflict between state military forces and guerilla combatants was underpinned by the poverty, marginalization and racism against Indigenous peoples.

The United Nations-backed Commission for Historical Clarification established in June 1994 determined that the Guatemalan military was responsible for 93 per cent of the atrocities – including forced disappearances, massacres and torture – and that 83 per cent of the victims were Indigenous Maya peoples.

The Commission concluded that acts of genocide occurred during the war.

Spring Magazine further explains: “The US suspended military aid to Guatemala in 1977—their human rights abuses were a bad look, so Israel stepped in for them. Israeli president Ephrain Katzir [the president from 1973 to 1978] signed an agreement supplying the Guatemalan military with $38 million worth of arms during the civil war period, including rifles, helicopters, equipment for surveillance, and training.”

PBI in Canada

Peace Brigades International-Canada continues to call on Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Canadian government to immediately suspend any transfers of weapons, ammunition and military components to Israel and to stop any military assistance or support that is likely to violate international humanitarian law.

PBI-Canada has also signed the Arms Embargo Now statement that says: “As the catastrophe wrought by Israel’s continued assault on Gaza grows, Canadian civil society organizations across multiple sectors are calling on the Canadian government to immediately suspend all trade in arms and military technology with Israel.”

Photo: The Elbit display at the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa, May 2025.

We thank our colleagues at PBI-Guatemala for their observation of this march.

Further reading

PBI-Colombia accompanied Nomadesc demands an end to the genocide in Palestine (August 30, 2025)

PBI-Honduras accompanied Indigenous COPINH water protectors demand justice for the Palestinian people (April 25, 2025)