Support and Learn about our Human Rights Delegation Collaboration with Chicago’s Guatemala Community Leaders

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We are happy to announce our collaboration with a group of activists and community leaders from the Guatemala diaspora in Chicago. The Maya Ixil Accompaniment Project is a Human Rights delegation to Guatemala, scheduled for July 3rd to 12th, 2024.

The primary goal of this delegation is to provide in-person accompaniment to the Maya Ixil community, whose witnesses and survivors of Genocide will testify during the hearings of the historic Genocide trial for the government period of Fernando Romeo Lucas García from July 1978 to March 1982. The trial, which began in March 2024, represents an important moment in the struggle for justice and accountability. As International Human Rights Accompaniers, the delegation will also document their experiences and engage with other human rights defenders, community and Human Rights organizations in Guatemala.

This project reflects the beautiful, diverse and complex identities of its members, who come from various backgrounds, including Mayan, Mestizo, Latine, Queer, and multiracial communities. The range of identities fosters a deep and nuanced understanding of the cultural and historical contexts in which they operate. This ongoing reflection process acknowledges the structures of oppression and white supremacy that people exist within, while consciously striving to dismantle them. The delegation members are Evelyn Zepeda, Kiara Rivera, David Hollinger, Chris Guzaro, Josue Sican and Jhonathan Gómez

In collaboration with CRLN, the project partners in Guatemala are the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA) and Asociación para la Justicia y la Reconciliación (AJR). This collaboration is made possible through the efforts of our sister organization NISGUA and the tireless work of the AJR, who have tirelessly worked to bring to justice those who committed Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide.

Before we depart for Guatemala, the project needs your help to raise funds to cover travel, accommodations, and other necessary expenses. The delegation members are starting their grassroots fundraising efforts for this project, and your financial support is crucial to ensure the success of this important work.

Read the AJR’s February 2024 case report below or click here.

Please consider donating to support the delegation as we stand in solidarity with the Maya Ixil community and advocate for justice and accountability.

Click here to donate through Venmo.


En resistencia y solidaridad permanente

Jhonathan F. Gómez

Photos by Jhonathan F. Gómez

Friends of CRLN,

We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended the action on Friday, May 31, at the Consulate. Your participation in this action and your support of the statement echoed the critical demands of human rights organizations in El Salvador. Civil society and human rights advocates have repeatedly highlighted the authoritarian and repressive nature of President Nayib Bukele’s government.

Our action was part of a coordinated effort involving groups and organizations from various cities across the United States and around the world. We were very glad to have partner and supported the diaspora community of El Salvador in Chicago, Alma de Izote collective, Cipotex de Chicago collective and other groups and organizations. We also thank our sister organizations in St. Louis, Missouri, Denver, Colorado, and Cleveland, Ohio who supported the action from their communities.

These demonstrations at embassies and consulates aimed to denounce the unconstitutional and illegitimate re-election of President Nayib Bukele in El Salvador. Your involvement helped amplify this message on a global scale.

People around the world have called for an end to human rights abuses and the restoration of democracy in El Salvador, underscoring the international concern for the country’s deteriorating political situation. This widespread support highlights the critical need for global solidarity in addressing these urgent issues. Please see the updated statement document below or CLICK HERE.

We stand resolutely with the people of El Salvador who REJECT AND REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE the Bukele regime. Together, we will continue to fight for justice, democracy, and human rights.


En resistencia y solidaridad permanente

Jhonathan F. Gómez
Co-Director


To see more photos CLICK HERE.

CRLN is a member of the Honduras Solidarity Network, a network of 30 North American groups formed after the 2009 coup d’etat in Honduras in solidarity with a broad array of social movements and citizens opposed to the subsequent regime and seeking greater social justice and democracy.

We ask you to support the international campaign against the criminalization of 8 Honduran citizens, now in jail for peacefully protesting the concession illegally given to a mining company to extract iron ore from the Carlos Escaleras National Park–the primary source of water for many of the surrounding communities. Please click on the link below

Freedom for the Guapinol Water Protectors! On February 9, 2021 the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions stated that the arbitrary detention of the Guapinol Water Protectors is related to their work in defense of the environment. Click here to Join the International Campaign to Demand Freedom for the Eight Guapinol Political Prisoners! After clicking on the link above, you will find more information in English and Spanish. Scroll to the bottom to fill in your name and email address in order to send letters to Honduran and U.S. officials to call for the release of the Guapinol 8.

Our network has been seeking a pathway in the Senate to press for human rights and anti-corruption measures in Honduras ever since the 2009 coup in Honduras. Last week, it finally materialized, as Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced the Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021 (S. 388). Senators Bernie Sanders (VT), Patrick Leahy (VT), Ed Markey (MA), Elizabeth Warren (MA), Dick Durbin (IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) and Chris Van Hollen (MD) joined as initial cosponsors. See full press release here (which includes a link to the full text of the bill). See article in the Guardian here.

The legislation includes the following provisions:

• Sanctions for President Hernández, and for top officials who have committed gross violations of human rights and/or acts of corruption.
• $2 million for the Honduras office of the United Nations High Office on Human Rights.
• A new MACCIH anti-corruption commission, to be negotiated by the United Nations, and strengthening of UFERCO, the special prosecutor’s office.
• Prohibition of US munitions sales to the Honduran police and military.
• A call for justice, including successful prosecution of all material and intellectual authors of numerous emblematic human rights cases, including the murder of Berta Cáceres.
• Suspension of (1) US funds for Honduran security forces and (2) US support for funds from multilateral development banks to Honduran security forces until a series criteria have been met, laid out in the bill.

Now we need you to send an email and call your two Senators to either thank them for co-sponsoring this bill or to urge them to do so.

Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Senator (repeat for your second Senator). When you are connected to your Senator’s office, ask to speak to the foreign policy aide. Be sure to get the name and email address of the foreign policy staffer so you can follow up. If the aide has not seen the bill, send a copy of the bill in an email. If the foreign policy aide is not available, ask to leave a message on their voice mail. After you leave the message, send an email to the aide with your message.

Sample script: “My name is _____. I am a constituent from (your town/city) in (your state). I am calling (or writing) to ask Senator _____ to co-sponsor The Honduras Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Act of 2021. The bill number is S. 388. The bill calls for the suspension of ‘United States support for the Government of Honduras until endemic corruption, impunity, and human rights violations cease, and their perpetrators are brought to justice.’ Has Senator _______ seen this bill? Can I count on him/her to join as a cosponsor?  Please call me this week at (_____) to let me know if you have seen the bill, and if Senator _____ will support it.  For more information or to co-sponsor the bill, please contact Caroline Kuritzkes and Matt Squeri in Senator Merkley’s office.”

Please contact Sharon at shunter-smith@crln.org when you send your message and call, especially if you get a response.