PBI-Guatemala observes Mayan ceremony in honour of Ramón Cadena, lawyer criminalized in the USAC case
On October 24, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:
“Yesterday #PBI observed a Mayan ceremony in honor of the lawyer and defender of human rights Ramón Cadena. It was carried out by several indigenous communities and organizations and farmworkers which Ramón supported in the years of his long career as a lawyer committed to the social struggles of Guatemala. Today was scheduled for the third time their hearing of the first statement within the trial by the #CasoUSAC [the case of Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala]. Dozens of students, teachers and advocates of human rights are accused of their actions of resisting the inauguration – signified of several irregularities – of the current rector of the unit Public University in 2022 and 2023.
In the end it transcended that the hearing was suspended by the full agenda of the judge of the case, Victor Cruz, pointed out by the United States on the Engel List as a corrupt actor. The hearing is rescheduled for Jan. 26, 2026.”
Video: “Solidarity is growing in favor of the lawyer Ramón Cadena, who, along with dozens of defenders, is in exile after suffering criminalization. Cadena is accused of supporting the university demonstrations against electoral fraud at the public University of Guatemala.”
Next hearing in 2026
On October 23, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “Human rights lawyer, Ramón Cadena Rámila, and students from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC), Christopher Alexis Morales and Pedro Emanuel Ros Domingo, were once again unable to give their first statement in the case Toma Usac: Political Loot due to the suspension of the hearing scheduled for October 23. The students of the Faculty of Agronomy and the lawyer, who faces a criminalization process in the USAC case, will have to wait until January 27, 2026 to have access to a hearing.”
Ramón Cadena Rámila
A statement posted on the Front Line Defenders website further explains that “dozens of human rights organizations” were concerned about “the judicial hearing scheduled for 23 October 2025 against the lawyer and human rights defender Ramón Cadena Rámila, in the case labelled by the Public Prosecutor’s Office as ‘Botín Político USAC’ [Political Spoils University of San Carlos in Guatemala].”
“Ramón Cadena, aged 70, is a prominent Guatemalan human rights lawyer, internationally recognised for his work in the defence of human rights, especially in cases related to the rights of Indigenous peoples and communities, land rights, and environmental justice.”
That post also notes: “Mr. Cadena has been criminalised for his legal advisory work with students defending the right to academic freedom, a process that, nearly two years after it began, still lacks a final resolution.”
USAC occupation in 2022
In August 2025, El Faro reported that “the occupation of the facilities of the public University of San Carlos of Guatemala (USAC) in May 2022 [lasted] nearly 400 days in reaction to the fraudulent election of rector Walter Mazariegos —a political ally to President Alejandro Giammattei— in which dissident voters were barred from casting ballots.”
“Stemming from the occupation of the USAC, the office of Attorney General Consuelo Porras has accused dozens of students, professors, and other employees of crimes including destruction of cultural property, illicit association, and influence peddling. In November 2023, prosecutors carried out 33 raids and issued 27 arrest warrants…”
“[In May 2025], the Superior University Council of the USAC expelled 10 university students recognized for their academic excellence who had participated in the protests against Mazariegos.
Currently, the USAC case includes a total of 14 people, comprising students, academics, and union members.”
On October 23, 2025, Prensa Comunitaria reported: “There are currently 12 people linked to the process, the last one was Edmar Arriola who was arrested on September 26 and had to spend 12 days in preventive detention.”
Trade unionists criminalized
Those criminalized alongside Ramón Cadena include “the trade unionist and worker of the University, Martín Jorge Macario.”
Public Services International has noted: “Of the 31 warrants [executed on November 16, 2023], six are addressed to leaders and former leaders of the Union of Workers of the University of San Carlos de Guatemala (STUSC).”
We continue to follow this.
Further reading: PBI-Guatemala accompanies trial of union member, students, professors who opposed fraudulent election of university rector (PBI-Canada, February 15, 2024) and PBI-Guatemala observes University of San Carlos student association elections (PBI-Canada, October 11, 2019).
0 Comments