URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Hypocritical arrest warrant issued against Guatemalan peasant leader

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My reaction upon first meeting Herculano Luc was similar to that of so many others who have met him. It became immediately clear that he was an articulate leader who was not afraid to speak truth to power. If the government of Guatemala supported its own people, he could play a key role in changing the fact that the majority of Mayan children are undernourished. Instead, he is seen as a threat for being an intelligent Mayan man working in support of the people. For this reason he has been targeted by the government, which last week issued an arrest warrant against him for supposedly organizing his community to invade and steal the land they live on – even though they did not invade it but in fact have lived their for generations.

While repression against Mayan leaders is increasingly common in Guatemala, there is something that makes this arrest warrant unusual and gives me the hope that if you take a few minutes to take the below action we might help cancel the arrest warrant. The reason is that two major institutions of the Guatemalan government, CONAP (National Council of Protected Areas) and INAB (Forest Service of Guatemala), have recognized the community´s historic right to their land. In fact Herculano was in Guatemala City negotiating with government representatives the same day that the arrest order went out.

Herculano Luc was born in and continues to live in the small community of Michbilrixpu, north of Coban, Guatemala. The community was located outside of the Lake Lechua National Park until the 1990s when the state amplified the size of the park and annexed the community. While the Guatemalan Constitution requires the government to find another property for the community before evicting them, they did not do this. Instead they sent police to violently evict families from the community on numerous occasions. For example on May 22, 2004, over 150 police entered the community and destroyed houses and crops. They used machetes to destroy basic tin roofs to render them forever unusable. They burned the community´s harvest of nearly 2,000 pounds of dried beans. They cut down acres of cardamom. Because the community is a difficult four hour walk from the nearest road, it was easy for them to return to their land. They had to start over each time they did, but they had no other place to go.

Finally the government ceased the evictions, recognized the community´s right to exist, and entered negotiations with the community to find a new territory. In November the government took community leaders to see a nearby vacant estate that they were considering offering the community. Last Thursday they met with community leaders in Guatemala City to continue negotiations.

That´s why last week´s arrest warrant came as such a surprise. Some have suggested it is evidence of the ineptitude of the Guatemalan government and the fact that the PGN (Attorney General) and MP (similar to the FBI), which issued the arrest warrant, are not in contact with CONAP and INAB. Much more likely Herculano is simply being targeted as part of the government`s systematic repression against Mayan leaders.

There is an opportunity here for us to call out the government for its hypocrisy and perhaps force them to cancel the arrest warrant. Leaders in Guatemala are organizing in defense of Herculano, and international pressure will give this struggle a boost. Last night Herculano called me, fighting back tears, and asking how he is going to feed his children. Herculano Luc should be supported as a dynamic leader who can create an alternative Guatemala where all people have enough to eat and all cultures are respected. He should not be hiding in a remote village away from home, wondering how his children are.

Please take a few minutes to send the below letter to Guatemalan authorities. You can send it as is or, better yet, make it more personal. It is very easy and we have seen this strategy work in the past.

Send to: licsaullopez@hotmail.com,nslopez@mp.gob.gt

Asunto: Orden de captura para Herculano Luc debe ser retirado

Estimado Licenciado Lopez,

Me he enterado que la semana pasada se instituyó una orden de captura en contra del ciudadano guatemalteco Herculano Luc en relación al conflicto de tierras de la comunidad de Michibilrixpu, municipalidad de Cobán, departamento de Alta Verapaz. Según mi propio conocimiento del caso y del señor Luc considero que este hecho es un error grave y le solicito respetuosamente que investigue y que retire la orden.

El señor Luc ha trabajado durante años en busca de una solución al conflicto de tierras en su comunidad. Como resultado de su trabajo, la comunidad está actualmente negociando con CONAP y INAB para buscar nuevos terrenos en donde pueda vivir la comunidad. Las familias de Michbilrixpu llevan generaciones en sus terrenos actuales pero estos terrenos fueron anexados como parte de la expansión del parque nacional Laguna La Chua. Por cumplir con su deber de ubicarlos en otros terrenos antes de desalojarlos, el gobierno nacional está negociando con la comunidad.

No se debe permitir la hipocresía del gobierno que de un lado reconoce los derechos del pueblo para existir y negociar una solución, y de otro lado los califica como "invasores" y emite orden de captura en contra de uno de sus líderes. ¿Será que el MP y la PGN no comunican con los del CONAP y INAB? Herculano Luc no es un criminal, el es un hombre quien trabaja para mejorar la vida de su pueblo. ¿Acaso eso es la meta del MP y PGN?

Voy a mantenerme al día con este caso y espero que Ud. pueda trabajar para corregir esta equivocación seria lo más pronto posible.

Atentamente,



Please take a few minutes to send the below letter to Guatemalan authorities. You can send it as is or, better yet, make it more personal. It is very easy and we have seen this strategy work in the past.

Send to: licsaullopez@hotmail.com,nslopez@mp.gob.gt

Subject: Arrest warrant against Herculano Luc needs to be cancelled

Dear Licensiado Lopez,

It has come to my attention that last week an arrest warrant was ordered against Herculano Luc in relation to the land conflict of the community Michbilrixpu of Coban. I consider this arrest warrant to be a grave error and ask that you work to immediately have it canceled.

Luc has worked hard for years to bring a solution to the land conflict in his community. As a result of his work, the community is negotiating with CONAP and INAB to find a new terrain for community members to live in. The families living in Michbilrixpu had resided there for decades before the government expanded the Lake Lechua National Park. The government is required to find them other land to live in before evicting them, and that is why the community is in negotiation with the government.

It is completely unacceptable and hypocritical that the government of Guatemala on the one hand recognizes the community´s right to exist and negotiates an end to the land conflict with them and on the other hand issues an arrest warrant against one of its leaders as an ¨invader.¨ Does the MP and PGN communicate with CONAP and INAB? Herculano Luc is not a criminal, he is a man who is working to improve the quality of life for people in his community. Shouldn’t this also be the goal of the MP and PGN?

I will be closely monitoring this case and hope that you will work to correct this horrible mistake as soon as possible.

Sincerely,