We reject the criminalization of the right to peaceful resistance

The CLACSO Working Group on Violence in Central America, made up of academics from the Central American and Latin American region, declares:

• We join the countless expressions of support for these community leaders and urge organizations, agencies, and entities that protect human rights to do everything necessary to stop this new attack against the legitimate rights of the people of Guatemala.

• Our solidarity with Mr. Luis Pacheco, former president, and Mr. Héctor Chaclán, former treasurer of the Board of Directors of 48 Cantones, Totonicapán in 2023, who, representing the indigenous peoples, actively participated in the defense of democracy in Guatemala, and who were recently captured at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, accusing them of serious crimes.

• We condemn the spurious use of the criminal justice system, a recurring practice in the country in recent years, as an instrument to criminalize the actions of citizens whose rights to resistance, peaceful protest, expression, and organization to demand the guarantee of human rights and the rights of peoples, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic and in international instruments, are threatened.

• We call upon the competent authorities to comply with due process regulations in respect for the integrity of Mr. Pacheco and Mr. Chaclán.

April 28th 2025
CLACSO Working Group
Violence in Central America

This text expresses the position of the aforementioned Working Group and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.