The Xinka people, an Indigenous group in Guatemala, have experienced abuse as a consequence of their opposition to the Escobal silver mine

June 2023, Congresswoman Bush meets with members of the Xinka Parliament and other representatives of the Xinka people while they were in Washington D.C. to receive the 2023 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.

 Washington, D.C. (Sept. 14, 2023)—Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01), alongside 12 colleagues, sent a letter to United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing concerns about human rights abuses against the Xinka people and urging the State Department to publicly affirm their right to free, prior and informed consent and self-determination. Congresswoman Bush worked closely with her colleagues, human rights organizations, and the Xinka people to author this letter following a March 2022 congressional delegation to Guatemala.

 For years, Xinka community members and leaders have faced retribution, intimidation, defamation, and even death for speaking out against the Escobal silver mine in southeastern Guatemala. Since 2011, the Xinka people have vocalized their concerns about the mine’s impact on water resources, cultural sites, and local self-determination. In 2013, the mining company’s security forces opened fire on peaceful Xinka protesters, injuring six people. This led to a lawsuit in Canada whereby the new company operating the mine, Pan American Silver, took responsibility for the shooting and other human rights violations.

 Although Guatemalan courts suspended the Escobal mine’s operations in 2017 and the Guatemalan Constitutional Court ordered a consultation process in 2018, that process has been impeded by Pan American Silver and the Guatemalan government.

“This situation represents an opportunity for the State Department to affirm the basic concept that Indigenous people’s rights should not be trampled so that multinational corporations can hastily profit from resource extraction in violation of international law. We urge you to prioritize this issue during the post-election transition, pay close attention to this rapidly developing situation, insist on further protections for Xinka leaders and community members, and monitor the potential for grave violation of human rights,” said Congresswoman Bush and her colleagues who signed the letter.

 A copy of the letter can be found HERE.

 The letter was also signed by Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Greg Casar (TX-35), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Jesús Garcia (IL-04), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Mark Pocan (WI-02).

 This letter is endorsed and supported by Earthworks, IPS, Oxfam America, LAWG Education Fund, EarthRights International, and Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA).