Angélica Choc and Máxima Acuña, two of the land-defenders we most deeply admire, were threatened and attacked last week at their respective homes in Guatemala and Peru.
On Friday, September 16, 2016, gunshots were fired against Angélica Choc’s home, just after midnight. Four bullets impacted the walls of her home, where Angelica and two children were sleeping. This most recent attack comes as the criminal trial in Guatemala for the murder of Angélica’s husband, Adolfo Ich – which took place on September 27, 2009 – nears its conclusion, and as the civil case in Canada against HudBay Minerals for negligence in connection with this and other serious human rights violations moves forward.
In Peru, on the same weekend that Angélica Choc’s home was attacked, another land-defender was beaten and left in serious condition after an armed attack at her home. Farmer and outspoken opponent to South America’s largest gold mining project, Maxima Acuña de Chaupe, and her partner Jaime, were severely hurt by armed men on September 18. Acuña’s daughter reports that the attack was lead by security of Yanococha, a subsidiary of US-based mining company Newmont.
A statement in solidarity with Angélica Choc in Guatemala and Máxima Acuña in Peru, as well as with many others who have recently experienced violence and repression while fighting for land, water and life in the face of large-scale mining and hydroelectric projects across Latin America is seeking individual and organizational sign-ons by Tuesday, September 27th. Sign on here.
“We are deeply concerned about the rising number of attacks against human rights and land defenders throughout Latin America, particularly at the hands of multinational extractive companies as recently reported by Amnesty International. An alarming number of these victims are Indigenous women. We hold responsible not only the companies implicated in these acts of violence but also the home countries for supporting in multiple ways the expansion of corporate and investor interests while turning a blind eye to repression, human rights violations and environmental harms linked to those same economic interests. The serious threats against Angélica and others involved in the case have been repeatedly denounced both nationally and internationally and we continue to support her courageous and dignified struggle for justice in the murder of her husband. “
This statement will be presented to Guatemalan Indigenous activist Angélica Choc this Thursday, when the murder of her husband Adolfo Ich Chaman will be commemorated. It will also be published and distributed online in three languages and will form the basis for an appeal to Canadian authorities demanding respect for Indigenous rights, safety for those who are fighting mega-projects in defence of land, water and life, as well as an end to impunity for Canadian corporations implicated in abuses abroad.
More coverage of our work in solidarity with community struggles around Hudbay Minerals’ operations can be found here.
