On November 21, the Peace Brigades International-Guatemala Project posted on social media:
“Yesterday, #PBI accompanied an oral and public debate with the defenders of the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa, who have been criminalised for their fight against pollution from the Los Manantiales quarry.
The technical witness, Guadalupe Argentina, an anthropologist, indicated in her report that the prior consultation was carried out with only 15 people, all of whom were direct employees of the company, with biased and unrepresentative questions.
“As their exploitation is open-pit, they need to get rid of the soil. They dumped it on the football fields and turned the community’s recreational areas into polluted spaces,” said the second witness, Ubaldino Pérez, a member of the La Prensa community, about the mine’s waste, which caused multiple health problems in children and adults.
Next hearing: 28 November”
Today (November 24), Prensa Comunitaria reported:
“On November 21, the Drug Activity Criminal Sentencing Court of the department of Chiquimula held the ninth hearing of the trial against ten indigenous authorities of the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council of Olopa, Chiquimula, who are facing a process of criminalization for their fight against the operations of the Los Manantiales Quarry.
Two defense witnesses appeared at the hearing and were heard by Judge Silvia Lorena Solares.
Guadalupe García, anthropologist and member of the Extractive Industries Observatory (OIE), responded to questions regarding the 2021 report “History of the Los Manantiales Quarry Mining Project”.
While Ubaldino García, the second witness, from the village of La Presa and a member of the Olopa resistance, said that the community organization of the Ch’orti’ indigenous people has been going on for many years and that this time has allowed them to dialogue and seek actions and solutions to the needs of the community.
However, he added that since the appearance of the company in the region, it began to generate mistrust and conflicts in the 14 communities that make up the Maya Ch’orti’ Indigenous Council in Olopa. García blamed the company for violating the rights of people and the Mayan Ch’orti’ community.
The defense attorney of the authorities, Francisco Vivar, said that the conclusions of the case will be made in the next hearing. “There we will be proving with all the certainty of the case the innocence of our colleagues,” he said.”
The full Prensa Comunitaria article can be read at Cantera Los Manantiales violentó el derecho de consulta afirma testiga en juicio contra autoridades Ch’orti’ (Juan Bautista Xol, Prensa Comunitaria, November 25, 2025).
