In a sign of the times, nine members of two human rights organizations in Guatemala have received serious death threats by text message, according to Amnesty International. Between April 30and May 5, the members of the Association for the Study and Promotion of Security under Democracy (SEDEM) and the Protection Unit for Human Rights Defenders in Guatemala (UDEFEGUA) received more than forty death threats via text message. The incidents are considered related to the members’ work in opening old police archives from the now defunct Guatemalan National Police, which, as part of the 1996 Peace Accords, was replaced by the National Civilian Police. Since 2005, when an estimated 80 million documents were discovered, 12 million have been made available by the Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office.
One of the messages read: “I am in front of your house […]. escape if you can, alone, if you love your children and your people […], if you all do not stop now, I will kill you and your family, and everybody will think you did it...”
On May 4, a dark green car with two men inside was spotted outside the house of one of the activists. After police arrived, they later told the activist that the two men were armed but had valid licenses to carry weapons and were let go. These death threats are “an illustration of a climate of insecurity and fear in Guatemala, where those working to protect human rights and seek justice are required to do so at great personal risk,” said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. The Convergence for Human Rights of Guatemala is demanding that the Public Ministry identify and prosecute the people responsible. It has also called on the Ministry of the Interior to ensure the lives and wellbeing of all members affiliated with SEDEM and UDEFEGUA.
Guatemala’s internal armed conflict, which began in 1960 and ended in 1996, cost the lives of approximately 200,000 people, most of whom were members of Mayan indigenous groups in northwestern Guatemala. Most of the atrocities, including tortures, disappearances and the murder of women and children have been linked to Guatemalan security forces.
-Ednar Segura
Iduvina Hernández, threatened by text message
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