The Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project has posted on social media:
“Today, #PBI is accompanying members of REDSAG [the Network for the Defense of Food Sovereignty] and the Pajales Sis community council on a tour of the community in the municipality of Andrés Villaseca. During the tour, we have observed the damage caused by the construction of gabions by the local sugar mill to divert the river’s course, and the subsequent destruction wrought by the river’s force. This puts the community at risk of potential flooding. We also took the opportunity to see how work is progressing on the road that will connect the community to the main road, as well as the water tank which, thanks to the efforts of the community’s political council, they have managed to secure.”
Gabions can be understood as wire mesh cages filled with materials like rocks, stones, or concrete, commonly used in civil engineering for erosion control, retaining walls, and river bank stabilization.
PBI-Guatemala has previously explained: “The Pajales Sis community is located between the El Pilar and Tululá sugar refineries. José Miguel Sánchez López, a member of the Pajales Sis Community Development Council (COCODE), has been speaking out for years about the consequences of both sugar refineries’ poor practices, which have affected community members’ lives. As a result, he has been targeted for criminalization by the sugar refineries.”
Canada
In April 2026, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) noted: “Guatemala’s main raw and refined sugar exports are destined for the United States, followed by Taiwan and Canada.”
This USDA chart suggests the most recent figure is that Canada imported 176,956 metric tons of sugar from Guatemala.
PBI-Canada visit
On May 2-4, 2023, PBI-Canada visited the South Coast of Guatemala to learn more about the impacts of sugar production on communities and their access to water.
At that time, PBI-Canada saw diminished and polluted rivers attributed to sugar production and visited numerous communities that shared stories about how the water required for sugar mills had dried wells and gardens.
Photo: The entrance to the El Pilar sugar mill. Photo by PBI-Canada.
Photo: PBI-Canada hears testimony in the community of Pajales Sis about the impacts of the El Pilar sugar mill, May 2, 2023.
Accompaniment
PBI has accompanied members of the REDSAG Political Council since September 2025, especially José Miguel Sánchez López from the Pajales Sis community in San Andrés Villa Seca, Retalhuleu, and sisters Carmelina and Estela Chocooj from the Soledad Sayaxut community in Cobán, Alta Verapaz.
We continue to follow this.
Further reading: How does sugar from Guatemala arrive in Canada? (PBI-Canada article, March 3, 2022).
